To Lay A Dragon
by naughty and delicious
Summary: HP&DM Slash. First there was lust, then desire, but will the two ignite loves fire? A tale of Romance, Humor and an intriguing mystery. Also SB&RL. SB has returned from the veil. Post war.
1. Chapter 1

**To Lay A Dragon**

**All of the delectable characters belong to JK Rowling. **

**H/D Slash. **

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Harry sat with his teammates at a table in the Unicorn's Tail. The bar was crowded and the noise level excessive; it was the local hangout of the London based Quidditch players. Teams sat together at separate tables, drinking, and loudly exchanging barbs with other teams around the room.

The Quidditch commission, founded after the war, had completely revamped the world of Quidditch. They had set up a new system with many more teams, including four London based teams in order to try and fill the void of entertainment grossing lacking in most wizards lives after the trials and losses of war.

Harry clapped his beer down heavily on the table and looked up smartly. Draco Malfoy, seeker for the Slayers had just loudly proclaimed that their upcoming game against his team, the Dragons, would be an easy win because "word had it that the Dragon seeker was a pansy."

The Slayer table had met Malfoy's words with loud guffaws and as was the norm, the Dragon's all stared at one another grinning, waiting for the comeback Harry was certain to provide.

They were right of course, 'did I just hear the squawk of a fucking faggot?' Harry barked, tilting his head as if listening intently.

His teammates laughed in support; Blaise Zabini, Draco's best mate, but a beater for the Dragons laughed as loud as the rest. Despite old established friendships and Hogwarts' house loyalties, when on the field or at the bar, the only important factor was loyalty to one's team.

One of the team's 'groupies' sitting at the Dragons table pressed her arm about Harry's shoulder's, 'you weren't acting very much like a pansy last night,' she said lewdly, causing a mild uproar at the table.

'That might be,' Draco said loudly from across the room, 'but somebody might want to explain to said seeker that the snitch isn't located in my crotch.'

More laughter, this time roaring from all of the surrounding tables, including that of the Dragons. Harry too burst into genuine laughter, recalling the last game between his team and the Slayers.

Harry and Draco had been pursuing the snitch and Draco had the advantage. Harry had hunkered down on his broom and jetted suddenly forward and sideways, attempting to knock Draco off balance while lunging with his hand outstretched toward the snitch.

However, his hand had got caught up against the Slytherin's thigh and Draco had reflexively jerked his leg backward, causing Harry's palm to fall on his groin. The Slytherin had quickly crammed his thigh against his broomstick, trapping Harry's hand against his groin and made a sharp turn causing the Gryffindor to lose his equilibrium.

Neither had caught the snitch after the play, having lost sight of it during their private little battle. However, the play had been shown on the big screen at the stadium and on the magical screens now ensconced in nearly every wizard home; few in the wizard world hadn't seen the hilarious and slightly humiliating play.

'One more beer and I won't hear you anymore,' Harry mumbled around his laughter. Malfoy's dark sense of humor didn't bother him; it rather matched his own.

'Bella another beer,' Harry called rambunctiously to Lilac, the part Veela waitress who served drinks.

Lilac sauntered to their table and placed one of the many drinks she carried on a tray before Harry and he in turn pinched her lightly on the butt. Slapping his hand she moved quickly away as laughter rang out at the table. Her allure was incomparable, unfortunately, so was her firm intention to keep the players at bay.

'Nice move, Potter,' Draco's voice rang out moments later, 'you should write a book entitled Great Pick Up Moves.' More laughter followed his statement.

'Wouldn't do you any good Malfoy,' Harry responded, giving the Slytherin a sly smile, 'no advice would ever help you get those little ferret fingers of yours into my boxers.'

Laughter again prevailed. It was well known that Draco swung both ways, but most were fairly certain that he had little desire for his long time rival Potter…fairly certain. Potter they were more certain about. He was a ladies man through and through and proved it on a weekly basis, routinely bedding any cute and willing young witch that caught his eye.

In the five years since Harry had killed Lord Voldemort he had changed greatly. He had quickly grown tired of the wizard world treating him with esteem and honor for his deeds. He had allowed Mad-eye Moody to correct his vision (rather ironic that the man curing his sight stared down at him with a eye-ball whizzing around its socket the whole time), eliminating the need for glasses and then accepted an offer from the Dragons to play seeker for their team.

He began to make good friends among his teammates and other players and allowed himself to be reformed into a world class sports figure with all the trimmings. Ribald behavior, cursing, and drinking became a part of his everyday life; he could even be found smoking upon occasion.

Ginny, his girlfriend after the war had become quickly disgusted with his behavior and ended their relationship. Harry had felt a loss at her deflection, but he was able to let it go fairly quickly; the multitude of witches happy to fill his bed had helped significantly.

Harry wasn't exactly fulfilled sexually or emotionally, but his dalliances kept his horniness at bay and he was overall happier than he had ever been in his life.

'Blaise,' Draco called after a time, 'let's get the hell outta here.'

Blaise, seated next to Harry and speaking to him about their upcoming game looked up at his friend as Draco arose from his table. 'And go where?'

'Let's head over to the Roost.'

Blaise rolled his eyes. Draco was drunk and that meant a crazy night was in store. The Haunted Rooster was certainly the proper place for it.

'Yeah, alright,' Blaise said a little reluctantly.

'If you would rather sit knitting baby booties with Potter, I'll understand,' Draco said, stumbling a little as he made his way from the table.

Blaise laughed and looked at his teammate, 'wanna come?' he asked Harry.

Harry liked the Rooster, he'd enjoyed many ribald nights dancing and drinking the night away and each had generally ended up with him dragging a plastered witch to his home and balling her until he passed out.

Harry contemplated the invitation for a moment and another of his teammates, Michael Corner jerked his head at him.

'Some of us are heading out to watch the Veela show,' he lifted his brows a few times in a lewd manner, giving tribute to the attraction of the Veelas.

However, the Veela show was something Harry took little pleasure in. They performed a sexy show for the audience, but like Lilac, refused to have any contact with the male members of the audience after the show. He had gone once and never returned; what was the point of being excited and then having to apparate home with blueballs?

Harry rolled his eyes at Michael, 'sure Blaise, let's go,' he responded at last and then looked over to the Avenger table where Ron and his teammates had begun singing a rather indiscrete song about stealing virgin witches from their beds.

'Ron, let's go to the Rooster, mate,' Harry called.

Ron looked up, his face flushed, 'the Rooster?' he gave a small moue of distaste, 'maybe I'll come around later, I was thinking of checking out the Veela show.'

Harry rolled his eyes again and got up to follow Blaise who was on the trail of a slightly staggering Draco Malfoy.

It wasn't unusual for Harry and Draco to be a part of the same group out on the town; their rivalry was pretty much limited to team sport. When seeking evening pleasure, players from various teams often co-mingled, their sport rivalry put aside in pursuit of a grander, more disreputable goal.

The three entered the wizard club and headed directly for the bar. They ordered drinks and then stood leaning against the bar-rail looking over the crowd.

Harry reached back to grab his drink and Draco quickly pulled it from his grasp, 'that's mine, bitch,' he said arrogantly.

'If either of us is gonna play the bitch, we both know who that would be,' Harry responded, chuckling a little as he pulled his own drink to his lips.

'Don't knock what you haven't tried, Potter,' Draco remarked, his eyes feasting on a cute red head for a moment. Seconds later she turned and he recognized her; it was Ginny Weasley and he frowned momentarily before his eyes began traveling the room again.

'There are some dark places I have no interest in illuminating,' Harry said, matching Draco's arrogance.

'Right,' Draco responded sarcastically.

Harry looked at Draco depreciatingly, 'don't project your depraved desires onto me; I know I bring out your sordid lust, but try and control it.'

'If I wanted to make you my bitch, Potter, you would be down on your knees gulping me up like a man who hasn't tasted water for seven years.'

'In your most twisted nightmares maybe,' Harry responded offhandedly, his eyes following the trail of a scantily dressed witch sashaying by them.

Blaise, never one to hesitate, quickly caught up with the little witch and trained his way too handsome smile down at her face. She seemed…intrigued.

'Bloody Bastard,' Harry mumbled, watching Blaise make his moves on the young witch, 'he moves faster than a hypograph in heat.'

Draco laughed and then pressed his face a little closer to the Gryffindor's, 'you would be surprised at the content of my most twisted nightmares, Potter,' he slurred a little drunkenly.

'Actually,' Harry said, a small smiling winding its way onto his mouth, 'I don't think I would be surprised at all.'

'Au contraire,' Draco purred, 'you would be quite astonished at some of them.'

'Would I now? Why would that be, Malfoy?'

'Because in some of them you are tied up tightly to my bedpost, naked and writhing, begging me to fuck you.'

Harry laughed, 'and that is supposed to be surprising?'

'No,' Draco said smiling a little evilly, 'the surprising part is that I comply with your request in order to stop your senseless pleading.'

Harry's laughter grew louder, 'fuck off, Malfoy.'

Draco's smile remained plastered to his face as he edged back from the Gryffindor. He slowly lifted his glass and took another sip of his beverage.

A rather plain looking blond witch sauntered up to the two of them and her eyes alighted on Harry. 'Harry Potter?' she asked a little shyly.

Harry grimaced a little, now and again he still had to deal with the admirers of the war hero.

Harry nodded at the girl.

'Harry Potter, male extraordinaire, at your service,' Draco said flamboyantly.

The girl smiled vacantly at Draco and then trained her eyes, a little hungrily, on Harry once more, 'I have always wanted to meet you.'

Harry smiled in a way he hoped was kindly, but his face felt greatly strained.

'My name is Libra,' she said, smiling warmly.

'Nice to meet you Libra,' Harry murmured.

'If you want to play Harry's whore for the night, Libra, forget it; he is rather adverse to power fucks,' Draco said, his dark laughing eyes lighting up joyously as the girl flushed deeply.

'Ignore him, he's drunk,' Harry said to the girl, but he was laughing on the inside.

The girl looked terribly uncomfortable and lowered her eyes, 'well I just wanted to meet you.' She peeped quickly at Harry again before turning and scrambling away.

Harry grinned watching her go, 'that was fucking evil,' he commented to Draco.

'I'll show you fucking evil,' Draco responded, his grey eyes staring intensely into Harry's green orbs when their eyes met.

Harry looked at Draco speculatively; the Slytherin was acting a little odder than usual. He was a little drunker than usual as well, but Harry also _felt_ a unique vibe emanating from his rival seeker.

'I have seen evil,' Harry said, allowing his eyes to slip to his drink, 'enough for a lifetime, but thanks for the offer.' Harry looked up and gave Draco a quick, sarcastic, open-mouthed wink.

Draco turned his attention back to the crowd and resettled his back against the bar, 'that wasn't an offer, Potter. You will easily recognize any offer from me aimed at you because you will have just beaten it out of me.'

Harry broke into laughter then took another sip of his drink, 'you know Malfoy,' he said, his tone still full of mirth, 'if I didn't know better, I would accuse you of flirting with me.'

'Then it is a good thing you know me as well as you do because if you did accuse me of something so outlandish and inane, you would find your face under my foot.'

Harry rolled his eyes.

'Again,' Draco added for good measure.

Harry certainly recalled having his face crushed on the train by Draco's foot back during their Hogwarts days. A grin whipped across his face, 'that was a long time ago, back when you could actually get away with that kind of shit.'

'Childish shit,' Draco mumbled.

Harry's head jerked upward and he regarded Draco again, his eyes narrowed. Draco was definitely acting odd. That last bit hadn't been the witty reply he'd expected.

Just to the left of Draco, however, an adorable, if familiar looking, brunette had arrived at the bar. Harry's eyes slid away from Draco and he began contemplating the little cutie, racking his memory in an attempt to recall where he'd seen her before.

Draco followed Harry's gaze and a moment later he lightly nudged the Gryffindor with his elbow in the ribs, 'look who's here,' he said pointedly, his forefinger sneaking out to indicate Ginny who sat in a corner booth talking animatedly with a tall foreign looking wizard.

Harry's eyes found Ginny and then slowly moved to fall upon the Slytherin's face, 'and?'

'It appears she has found yet another man.'

'Did you expect she would remain a chaste little virgin; sitting by the window at the Burrows hoping I would come running back, begging her to be with me?'

'No, but I thought maybe you did.'

Harry closed his eyes and shook his head lightly with something resembling disgust. He took another sip of his drink. 'I'm all over that. I've set my sights on other waters now.'

Draco smirked and his eyes darkened, 'careful you don't drown.'

Harry once again found Draco's behavior a little odd. It wasn't so much his words as the body language of the Slytherin.

'I don't plan on it.'

Draco nodded over his drink, 'just let me know if you need a life preserver. I have an abundance of them.'

Harry took a long swig on his drink, his eyes once again roaming over the crowd, but quite unfocused. He and Malfoy were not terribly close, but he knew the ex-prince of Slytherin quite well. Draco Malfoy _was_ flirting with him.

Harry and Draco were both distracted from their private pursuits however, when a loud crash resounded to their left. They whipped their heads around to find Blaise and another wizard on the ground…brawling.

Blaise clearly had the upper hand; he sat atop the man pummeling him about the upper torso.

Harry and Draco ran over as one and pulled their friend away from the struggling man on the floor.

'What the hell, Blaise,' Harry said.

'What the fuck are you doing?' Draco asked simultaneously.

'The bastard took a shot at me on the dance floor,' Blaise said angrily.

'Well I-' began Draco, but the club proprietor arrived and cut him off mid sentence.

'Out, all of you, out!' he cried, crooking his finger at a couple of well-built wizards who began walking toward the group.

The wizard had struggled up from the ground and looked as if he were about to attack Blaise, but the two muscular wizards had arrived and began shoving all involved toward the exit, although careful not to lay a hand on Harry.

The wizards bouncers had recognized him and all of the Quidditch players in fact, and had showed them no mercy based on their status as players. However, while they might not admit it, the bouncers had no desire to personally tussle with Harry. Although he'd never made use of his legendary ability as a wizard in public since the war, they weren't willing to chance being the first to provoke him into doing so.

'If you want to fight, do it in the street,' yelled the owner as he tossed them all summarily from the bar.

'I'm gonna kick your bloody ass!' the stranger yelled at Blaise the moment the club employees slammed the door in their faces.

'Come on,' Draco said, dragging Blaise forcefully away.

Harry quickly grabbed Blaise's other arm and helped drag; the last thing he needed was to lose his beater. A public fight would be grounds for sanction.

Blaise finally gave in and the three walked quickly around the corner from the bar.

'Let's apparate to my place,' Draco said.

Harry looked behind them and saw the angry wizard rounding the corner; 'death to Blaise' was written clearly across his features. 'Good idea,' Harry agreed.

Draco, still holding onto Blaise, clasped Harry's arm and moments before the angry wizard was upon them, they apparated.

The three moved into the front room of Draco's house and Blaise began pacing and ranting about the 'idiot' who had come onto the dance floor while he was dancing with the chick he'd found and punched him in the mouth.

Harry and Draco looked on with amusement for a while, but Draco finally had enough.

'Let's get in the Jacuzzi pool and relax a bit, what do you say, Blaise?'

Blaise turned a nasty stare upon his friend, but then his face relaxed and a few moments later he chuckled, 'I wanted to kill that asshole, but in reality the chick was boring as hell.'

Draco smirked as he arose and started walking from the room, 'her dullness wouldn't have mattered one bit once you got her in the sack.'

Blaise grinned, 'yeah if boyfriend hadn't come along, that was the plan. Shut her up and stuff her,' he said lewdly as he followed his host from the room.

Harry hadn't made up his mind to get in the Jacuzzi, but followed the Slytherins to the pool room while deciding. However, one look at the humongous Jacuzzi that in reality resembled a small pool, and he made up his mind. He accepted the trunks Draco provided and began undressing with the others.

Blaise began another small rant about kicking the strangers ass while they changed. Harry missed much of what the Slytherin said however; he was covertly watching Draco who as covertly looking over his body.

Harry changed a little quicker than was his wont and then moved quickly into the Jacuzzi which Draco had set to bubbling.

Once seated inside, Draco used his wand to signal the servants that he desired drinks for his friends and himself. Shortly thereafter the three were lying back taking in the soothing feel of the warm water surging around them and the cool alcohol burning its way down their throats.

'This is great,' Blaise said, snuggling back against the side of the pool.

'You do everything in a big way don't you?' remarked Harry, again noting the size of the large bath.

Draco smirked, 'everything I have is extra large,' he replied, his voice heavy with innuendo.

Harry rolled his eyes and took another swig of his drink. The drink and in fact the several drinks he had had during the night were taking their toll. He was feeling increasingly relaxed and a little woozy to boot. He placed his drink at the side of the bath and closed his eyes, soaking up the invigorating warmth.

Harry jerked awake a little while later to a splashing sound beside him. Blaise had gotten out of the pool and Draco was headed toward him.

'Come on,' he said, his voice edged with drink, 'you can do your sleeping in one of the guest bedrooms.'

Harry looked up lazily and watched Draco dip fully beneath, and then rise out of the water before stepping slowly from the bath, grabbing a towel and leaving the room.

When he departed, Harry sat immobilized in the still bath. Draco, while dipping into the water beside him had allowed his hand to drift between the Gryffindor's legs and pass seductively over his crotch. Harry's groin was tingling with uncustomary excitement and his brain was having trouble assimilating exactly why that might be the case, while at the same time hotly denying that it was the case at all.

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A/N: Please review and let me know if you would like me to carry on with the story.


	2. Chapter 2

**To Lay A Dragon**

**All of the delectable characters belong to JK Rowling. **

**Chapter 2 **

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Harry slowly dried off and dressed after finally exiting the warmth of Draco's Jacuzzi bath. He moved into the hallway and found Draco leaning against the wall just outside of the pool room, apparently waiting on him.

'Took you long enough,' Draco said, shoving himself away from the wall and starting off down the hall.

'Shut up and show me a bed,' Harry said brusquely as he followed the Slytherin down the rather long hallway.

Draco walked rather slowly, allowing his current prey to keep up with him. He was fairly certain that Harry knew what he was after; the trick would be to talk Harry around to joining him in a little fun. He made no secret of his bisexuality, having carried out an open, if less than serious affair with Lucian, a French Quidditch player who played for the Avengers in London for a year before returning to his country.

When Lucian arrived in London, he and Draco became fairly good friends and one drunken evening he seduced Draco. His experience with Lucian had resulted in the knowledge that he enjoyed a masculine bed partner, perhaps more than female company, although he was still working that out.

Lucian and he had an ongoing if rather sporadic relationship; they got together whenever time and lust found them in the same place at the same time, but there had been no real emotional attachment between them. Both had continued sleeping with others, although all of the 'others' Draco slept with had been women.

However women never seemed to be able to excite Draco's libido the way Lucian did. Since Lucian left, he'd been with only one other wizard; again on a drunken night and that time Draco had been the seducer. The wizard had never been with a man before and had not since. Draco had slept with a few women since then, but his libido began crying out for excitement and he once again began searching for male company.

He had set his eyes on Harry Potter. The idea of seducing Potter had a strange sort of fascination for him considering their long and convoluted past. Nonetheless, he liked the person Harry had become over the last five years. Both of them had changed dramatically since the war, and oddly enough, they had both transformed from opposite directions into a very similar type of animal.

There was also the fact that Potter was purportedly straight and would provide a challenge, just as the other wizard he'd pursued had. There was something about the chase that excited him tremendously.

Draco didn't want to settle down with anyone; he merely wanted to satiate his desires. He suspected Potter wouldn't be averse to a one time fling once he adjusted to the idea; he figured it would hold the same bizarre fascination for the Gryffindor as it did for him.

They passed several doorways before Draco finally came to a stop and twisted the golden knob of a corner door.

Harry entered the room behind Draco and was impressed with what he saw. The room was huge and the bed large enough to sleep ten. It looked invitingly comfortable with a huge feather-down comforter spread about it and six fluffy pillows at its head. The gold bedposts swirled upward in the shape of a serpent; a small reminder of who was providing all of the luxury.

'There are pajamas in the dresser if you do that sort of thing,' Draco said, pointing to a humongous chest of drawers.

Harry walked toward the bed, pulling his sweater over his head and tossing it carelessly on a chair that he passed. He sat on the bed and felt as if he had sunk into a cloud; it was without a doubt the softest comforter he'd ever come across.

Harry noted without much surprise that Draco was still standing in the room.

He looked up at the Slytherin inquiringly, 'if you are waiting on a strip-tease, you are going to be sadly disappointed, I only strip for women.'

Draco smirked, 'I rather think my disappointment would arise from what would be revealed once you removed your pants.'

Harry managed to return Draco's smirk with one that would have made any Slytherin proud, 'and you know that from your earlier inspection in the pool room?' he asked boldly.

'Indeed,' Draco conceded, 'the rumors were exaggerated as usual.'

'Get the fuck out,' Harry responded, mirth running through his tone, 'before I throw your ass out.'

Harry rubbed his hands over his face in a gesture of exhaustion. He dropped his hands to his jeans and snapped the button open then stood up while unzipping them. However his hand paused midway through the act when with some surprise realized that Draco had approached the bed and was standing only a small distance away from him.

Harry eyes flashed up to meet the grey eyes staring into his.

'What I was wondering,' Draco said smoothly before the Gryffindor had a chance to speak, 'is why a purportedly straight Harry Potter became so damned excited when his rocks came into contact with my hand.'

Harry's expression turned pragmatic, 'you mean when you copped a feel in the Jacuzzi?'

Draco grinned.

'It was you alone who became excited and by the way, you're welcome.'

A brief gust of laughter escaped Draco, 'deny it if you like but I could _feel_ your excitement. It was fucking _radiating_.'

Harry started laughing.

'The fact is, you liked it, but you likely talked yourself out of that fact while sitting there.'

Harry sighed tiredly, 'go to bed Draco, you're bloody drunk.'

'I am, but so are you and in my opinion that is the best time to experiment. Tomorrow it can be explained away as a fucked-up, drunken evening.'

'I'm not that damned drunk,' Harry said, unzipping his jeans the rest of the way and slipping them off. He moved quickly into the bed throwing the enticing comforter over himself.

Noting that Draco had still not left, he cocked a brow at the Slytherin, 'you may stand there and lust after me all night if you wish, but there will be the devil to pay if you come anywhere near this bed.'

A genuine smile formed about Draco's lips, 'The devil, eh? Well maybe I'll just go and arrange a little pre-payment with him.'

Laughter jetted from Harry's throat, 'don't waste your money,' he said still chuckling. He turned onto his side and snuggled under the warmth of the comforter.

Harry heard Draco traverse the room and then the door to the room closing. He struggled up and peeked about the room to ensure the Slytherin had left and then fell back onto the mattress.

Harry didn't fall asleep however, his mind had wandered back to the Jacuzzi and the excitement Draco's touch had engendered.

Wizards in general did not attach the same stigma to homosexual affairs as did their Muggle counterparts. It was not unacceptable for two witches or wizards to have a relationship; the only concern for wizards in this regard was the continued propagation of their species. So few wizards were born from Muggle parents, so mating for children was encouraged, especially after the war during which so many lives had been lost.

Harry's feelings echoed that of the wizard world. He had actually given the matter of experimenting with a man some thought in the past. He knew of several players who had tried it and some of them had declared it to have been a wicked experience.

Harry recalled the electric sensation that had passed through his body when Draco had briefly touched him earlier and began to understand what they meant. That had indeed been wicked.

A small grin formed about Harry's lips; if he were to experiment, Draco would be a rather crazy choice of partner considering the strange road their relationship had followed over the years. On the other hand, they got on fine these days and there was a certain poetic justice to the whole idea.

In any case, he thought, he was still not certain he was ready to further broaden his horizons; he'd already done so…tremendously.

Harry's thoughts became hazy as he drifted to sleep and his pre-sleep thoughts followed him into his dreams.

_Harry was traveling through forests and villages, familiar and yet at the same time new somehow. Places, people and animals floated through his mind for a long while and then suddenly he was in a darkened room and lying naked in a comfortable bed, but he was not alone. Draco Malfoy was lying beside him, fully dressed, and his hand was moving slowly toward Harry's groin. Harry watched the long, elegant fingers drift toward him and his desire began to rapidly escalate. _

_The hand seemed to be taking an extraordinary amount of time in reaching its goal and Harry wanted to scream at Draco and demand that he move faster. He opened his mouth, but no words came out. 'Please, please touch me now!' Harry begged as he watched the hand move ever closer._

_Finally the hand reached him and fell upon his thigh. His thigh started to tingle at the touch and when the hand began moving inward along his thigh, his entire body began sparkling with desire. 'Now,' he begged silently in his dream, 'do it!' The hand finally reached his groin and Harry gasped loudly, this time sound erupting from his throat as the long fingers began moving along his groin._

_Harry's passion soared as the fingers curled slightly and moved upward finally closing over his hardness. The hand began stroking him slowly, adroitly and each stroke seemed to send his ardor roaring to a new level. It was delicious, maddeningly so and he began to feel a grand explosion building within him. When his climax hit he was unprepared for the tremendous sensation that passed through him, long and vibrant, completely satiating._

_He had never taken his eyes from the beautiful long fingers as they worked their magic and they continued to softly massage him as his body relaxed from the devastating orgasm._

'_Harry,' the voice called, 'Harry!' He looked up from the bed and noticed that Dumbledore was standing near a doorway, 'Harry we must go now, it is time to apparate.'_

_Harry felt a wave of disappointment he would rather lie with the hand moving over his softening member forever._

'Harry.'

_Go away Dumbledore, Harry thought, if he thought hard enough, maybe the old wizard would get the message._

'Harry, wake up you slug.'

Harry jerked out of his dream state and into reality. He was deep within the warm comforter of Draco's bed alone with a wet mess lining his boxers.

'You awake?'

Harry struggled up a little and looked toward the door. Draco stood just inside the doorway. 'Yea,' the Gryffindor mumbled.

'We have practice in an hour and according to Blaise, so do you. Get up.'

'Yea, I'm up,' Harry grumbled and watched Draco drop through the door, leaving him to face the wetness about his groin alone.

Harry looked down at his shorts with a little surprise. He hadn't had a wet dream in quite some time. The memory of what he had been dreaming about at the time hit him at about the same moment. That made sense to him considering what he'd been thinking about before he fell asleep; in the past he'd had wet dreams thinking about far stranger and less sexual things.

Harry quickly scanned the sheets for remnants of his excitement and noticed a couple of small stains. He moved out of the bed and pulled his wand from the wizard weapon pocket in his jeans. He cleaned the mess and then himself and slowly began to dress.

'Morning,' Blaise said around a mouth full of eggs when Harry entered the dining room.

'Hey,' Harry responded, plopping himself down in an empty chair and pulling one of the large covered platters before him. 'I'm starving,' he declared, scooping a huge helping of eggs onto his plate.

'What else you got?' Harry asked Draco who was seated across from him cutting into his food.

Draco placed his knife and fork down and grasped one of the platters near him and passed it to Blaise, 'bacon, potatoes, beans, whatever you like,' he said offhandedly.

Harry nodded distractedly. He had been looking at the Slytherins hands while they moved to transfer the platter and then took up the knife and fork again. They were exactly like the hand that had figured predominately in his dream. The long, slim fingers looked almost graceful in their movement.

Harry accepted the platter from Blaise and then another after that. But his eyes kept floating back to Draco's hands and his mind to his dream.

However, Blaise began speaking, distracting Harry from his thoughts, 'I'm throwing a little get together tonight at my place.'

'Cool,' Harry responded.

'What time?' Draco asked.

'Around nine,' Blaise estimated, 'but come whenever, no games tomorrow so it'll likely go until the wee hours.'

Harry imagined the little get together would likely be quite large. It was Friday and there were no practices on Saturdays as generally games were played. However, none were scheduled for the London based teams the next day, so it was likely most of the players would be there and of course, all of the groupies.

They got up to leave shortly thereafter and moved through the front door to the porch.

'Thanks for putting me up,' Harry said, throwing his hand out to give Draco's a slap. When their hands snapped together for that brief moment, another little charged moved through Harry. It wasn't the contact, but rather the fact that he had once again taken notice of _that hand._

Harry had the worst practice of his life; his mind was distracted the entire time and he didn't catch sight of the snitch once. He wasn't looking for it. Instead he flew around thinking about his dream the night before and _the hand._

Their captain, Michael Corner balled him out afterward, but Harry shrugged it off. Michael's complaints hadn't been heartfelt because he normally played phenomenally; even his captain had realized he had to be off now and again.

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When Harry arrived at the party it was in full swing as he hoped it would be; he had arrived at eleven to ensure that would be the case. Throughout the day thoughts of his dream and the _hand_ had flittered through his mind and he had begun convincing himself that a little mild experimentation wouldn't hurt, but he kept vacillating.

Harry saw Ron talking with a couple of his Avenger teammates and sauntered over to where they stood.

A couple of girls were also among the little group and Ron had his arm clutched tightly around one cute little witch. The two of them seemed to be using one another for support.

'Ya made it, ya bum,' Ron said loudly upon spotting his friend.

Harry started chuckling at the sight of Ron's clumsy footing; he appeared to be teetering. 'Yup,' Harry responded, 'where's the beer?'

'Keg to your left,' Ron said jovially, leaning down to plant a rather sloppy kiss on the girl's mouth.

Harry headed over to the keg and grabbed a glass from the table next to it. A couple of people were waiting for the keg so he stood in the ill-formed line.

'What's up, Potts?' Draco's voice rang out along side him.

'Not much, just going after my first,' Harry responded in his usual casual tone. Inside however, he was a little nonplussed at seeing the owner of the _hand_ he had been thinking about throughout the day.

Draco had been at the party a while and he was well on his way to a good drunk, but he held his liquor well. 'Who the hell would provide only one endless keg at a party this size?' he wondered a loud.

Harry grinned, 'Blaise.'

Draco chuckled a little, 'he has a real knack for party planning, that one.'

The people in front of them finally cleared out and Harry shoved his glass beneath the keg faucet, 'any hot babes here tonight or just the run of the mill leeches?'

Draco began looking around the room, 'leeches to the last, but I haven't made rounds in a while, maybe some have turned up. I am sure if you look hard enough you can find something…_different.'_

Harry didn't miss the innuendo in Draco's voice and his eyes slid sideways to regard the Slytherin as he pulled his full glass back. 'I doubt it,' he said taking a swig, 'generally the -'

But Harry broke off suddenly when he caught sight of Draco's hand moving the lever on the keg to fill his glass. Had Draco always moved his fingers that way? It appeared as though he were caressing the keg lever as he flicked it forward.

Harry kicked himself mentally, growing frustrated with his singular concentration on Draco's hand and fingers.

'Generally what?' Draco asked as he stood and regarded the Gryffindor.

Harry pulled himself together and his swaggering expression was again planted on his face, 'generally the hot sluts arrive early, find a corner and hold court all night,' he finished. He kept his eyes firmly planted on the crowd about them.

Draco laughed, 'true. To another night of lust with the run of the mill leeches,' he proclaimed, holding up his glass.

Harry lifted his glass and allowed it to clink with Draco's. He attempted to avoid looking at the Slytherin's hand clutching the glass. He failed. The sight sent a little shiver down his spine.

'Let the hunt begin,' Harry said a little louder and a little wilder than called for, never meeting the Slytherin's eye. He then turned a little abruptly and made his way back toward Ron.

Draco stared at the Gryffindor's back as he mix into the crowd of partiers and a small smirk lit his features. Despite his efforts to appear otherwise, Harry had been decidedly uncomfortable while they were speaking. That was very unlike Harry; he had become an extraordinarily confident person.

Draco gave it two weeks.

Harry spent the next two hours trying to catch up with Ron's inebriated state, but he never made it. Young Weasley drank himself into a stupor and plopping himself down on a convenient couch, passed out; his plans to take the beauty he'd captured to his bed completely thwarted.

The girl, only a little less drunk than Ron, attached herself to Harry and stood flirting with him. Harry missed most of her attempts to woo him; his mind was completely focused on the debate he was having with Ron's Avenger teammates over a totally irrelevant Quidditch rule.

When the conversation finally lulled the girl looked up at Harry, 'let's go have a few more drinks at your place,' she said.

Harry generally liked to do the pursuing himself, but he was pretty twisted with drink by that time and had a mind to go for her offer. However, at that moment, Blaise wailed loudly with delight; his deep and fierce growl causing several heads to turn in his direction, including Harry's. Apparently he'd gotten the better of someone or another in the group he was talking to as they all had begun laughing loudly.

Draco was among the group and when Harry glanced over his eyes remained momentarily glued to the group. More specifically to Draco's hand which was firmly gripped about the glass he was bringing to his lips.

Harry's drunken mind quickly started shooting scenes of that hand and its firm grip through his head and the glass wasn't involved at all.

'How about it?' the girl attaching herself to his waist asked, looking up at him with unmitigated lust in her eyes.

Harry had completely lost interest in the girl in those few seconds, something that would later haunt his thoughts greatly. He grinned down at her, 'would be delightful, but,' he looked at Ron slumped on the couch, 'I got to get my buddy home.'

'I'll take care of Ron,' William, the Avenger's beater said quickly. He bent to gather Ron up from the couch.

Harry didn't want to be with the girl, who's name he'd completely forgotten. However, he was quite used to getting out of unwanted assignations. 'Thanks, Bill,' he said and then began detaching himself from the girl, 'I think I am going to call it a night, but we'll do it another time, babe, eh?'

He didn't wait for an answer or the begging that would surely come; he turned quickly and moved through the crowd, making his way to the restroom.

Inside, he stared at himself in the mirror and wondered what the hell he was doing. He'd never been one to hide things from himself and he didn't start. He was apparently up for finding out more about the excitement that the _hand _might generate.

His drunken visage in the mirror began debating the issue with him and he stood going back and forth with himself for some time. An impatient knock on the door reminded him that he'd been unforgivably hogging the bathroom. The endless keg likely meant there was an endless line in front of the door after so long.

Harry quickly exited the restroom and made his way passed the exasperated looking individuals in the line before it. A couple of players sent ribald comments his way that he didn't catch; his mind was still occupied with itself.

_Just do it or forget the shit! _He said to himself with irritation when he had made his way back into the main party room.

Ron was gone and looking around he saw that Draco appeared to be taking his leave of Blaise.

It's now or never, thought Harry. With determination in his eyes, he waited until Draco began making his way to the door and taking a deep breath, he followed.

Draco moved through the door and with his back still to Harry, he pulled his wand from his jeans, clearly on the point of apparating.

Harry moved quickly forward and tapped Draco on the shoulder, 'just a minute.'

Draco turned with curiosity in his eyes.

Harry stalled a moment, his bravado slinking away. He was rarely tongue tied any more and he had figured out what to say in his mind, but standing before Draco, all of the witty quips he'd come up with in the bathroom suddenly seemed too outrageous to voice.

He couldn't do it. He slammed through his inebriated brain attempting to think of something else to say.

However, Draco had been staring at Harry the whole time and while it seemed way too soon, he was quite certain that Harry had made up his mind to do a little experimenting with him. He could hardly credit it; he had barely begun the chase.

'Wanna come by my place for a quick drink?' Draco asked rather nonchalantly.

'Sure,' Harry responded, keeping his tone indifferent. He felt a small pinch of embarrassment at the thought that Draco had likely figured him out.

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A/N: Still liking it? Please review and let me know…thanks. And thanks to all who left a note last chapter…it was very motivating.


	3. Chapter 3

**To Lay A Dragon**

**All of the delectable characters belong to JK Rowling. **

**Chapter 3**

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When Harry and Draco arrived at the Slytherin's home, they moved directly into the front room and sat down on the couch. Draco called for a bottle of his favorite drink and his house elf was quick to serve them.

Harry began to relax and feel a bit more comfortable about his decision to approach Draco. While it had been the Slytherin who had finally suggested they get together, there was little question about what was on both of their minds when the offer was made.

Harry took a deep sip of the cool alcohol and grimaced a little at its bite. It plunged through his body, joining the good amount that was already inside of him, burning his throat along the way.

'You like your drinks strong as hell,' he murmured going for another sip.

Draco grinned, 'it takes a lot to get me twisted.'

'I've noticed,' Harry responded. Of all the players Harry knew, Draco was always the last to go under.

'I think it is a rather good thing,' Draco said nonchalantly.

Harry became aware of the cumulative affect of all the alcohol he'd been drinking. His brain was having a little trouble coming up with the snappy rejoinders he was so good at. 'It's good,' he replied at last, pausing to take another sip, 'yeah.'

Draco started chuckling a little, 'you on the other hand are two strides short of blacking out.'

Harry's trademark wide smile appeared. It looked good on him; it conveyed his general happiness with his life and was something that many had found joy in seeing after all he'd been through. Some had thought he might never smile again, but he had bounced back like a trooper from his mission with evil…and then some.

Draco was not immune to the joy-filled smile of his companion. However, he rarely did more than grin himself; while he was happy enough, he didn't believe in displaying it so vividly. He was after all, still a Malfoy at heart and certain little details of his upbringing remained with him no matter how much he'd changed.

'You know Harry,' he said scooting a little closer to the Gryffindor on the couch and watching with amusement as Harry edged back a little, 'I used to think all this partying you have been doing for the last five years was a bit of a charade. But you really do enjoy a good time, don't you.'

Harry finished his glass rather than responding. The Slytherin's hand had slithered onto his thigh. Draco was moving a little too fast for his taste, even his drunken taste. He tried to figure out a way to eliminate the hand from its casual position near his knee without seeming awkward, but when he finished his drink his eyes fell upon it.

Sober, Harry's mind had done things with that hand that would have impressed even the staunchest lecher; drunk, his mind got a little scary with the visions.

Instead of asking for a second drink, the excuse he had come up with to get Draco to use his hands and remove the one causing warmth to spread about his leg, he reached for the bottle himself and poured another glass.

'I think,' Draco said softly, allowing his fingers to trail a small distance along Harry's thigh, 'that it's a good thing.'

Harry had completely forgotten what they were talking about and Draco's words made no sense to him. He didn't bother responding; his eyes had refocused on the movement of the long fingers once he'd put the bottle down. He took another deep swig while he watched their gentle glide along his leg.

'A definite change for the better,' Draco said in the same soft tone.

'A definite change,' Harry repeated, with no idea whatsoever what he was talking about.

Draco's delicate chuckle instantly penetrated his dazed mind and his eyes flew upward to meet the grey laughing eyes.

A wave of embarrassment, doubled by the drink, splashed through his senses. He silently cursed the alcohol; he was certain he had looked like a blubbering idiot, blatantly staring at Draco's hand and making nonsensical replies. He hadn't meant to be so…obvious. His eyes fell away from his host's and he took another deep swig.

'Harry,' Draco whispered.

Harry looked up again.

'Relax.'

Harry looked quickly at Draco's hand and then met the Slytherin's eyes once more; some of the pragmatism that was second nature to him returning, 'I could do little else in the state I'm in,' he replied, referring to his inebriation.

Draco laughed, the palm of his hand moving liberally over Harry's leg, Harry, he thought, was still Harry, no matter how drunk he got. 'Good,' Draco responded, 'everything is much more enjoyable when one relaxes.'

Harry responded with a gasp; when Draco finished speaking his hand had slipped upward and inward and shamelessly continued its caressing motion in the region of Harry's groin.

Draco watched as Harry set his drink down a little wildly on the table, the liquid sloshing out along the rim due to the unsteadiness of his hand. He smiled briefly before leaning in and pressing his lips into the curve of Harry's neck, parting his mouth slightly so that his warm breath escaped as it moved along the soft skin. Draco's hand never ceased moving between Harry's legs and he was amused to find Harry's eyes fastened tightly upon it when he lifted his lips near the Gryffindor's ear and caught sight of his eye.

Draco felt the excitement that he had been aching to feel rising within him. Harry's scent was adding to his passion. He hadn't thought the Gryffindor's body would smell so woodsy and alluring; for some reason he had always associated a sweet smell with the Dragon's seeker.

He felt Harry's excitement rising to match his own; his breathing had become a little labored and his hands had moved upward until they were resting on his shoulders.

In a sudden movement, Draco snaked his head around and captured the Gryffindor's mouth with his own, driving his tongue inside and twisting it with the softness he found there.

By the time Draco mouth fell over his, Harry was caught up in a state of euphoria. Draco's hand and the warm breath gliding along his neck was sending continual charges through his body. However, it was the sight of the _hand_ moving about his groin that was nearly sending him over the brink.

Harry began kissing Draco back with as much fervency as the Slytherin was putting into the kiss, perhaps more; never letting go of the vision of the _hand_ in his mind.

Draco's hand moved to the top of Harry's jeans and he popped the button lose and then brought down the zipper. He got no resistance at all; in fact, Harry's hand had slipped from his shoulder and gripped the waist of his jeans to assist.

When Draco's hand moved over his boxers, Harry gasped again, this time into the Slytherin's throat as their mouths were still wildly twisting together. Draco allowed his hand to play a while along the cotton covered protrusion, but then he reached up and began tugging at Harry's waist band again.

Harry lifted his hips, never wanting his pants off more than at that moment. He assisted in shoving them together with his boxers away to the floor, kicking off his shoes in the same movement and then broke their kiss. Draco's hand had moved to caress his hardness and that he had to witness. It was like a day dream come true watching the hand move deftly along his shaft and nothing, he thought, could ever feel better than the delicious sensations it was causing to course through his body.

Or so he thought. The Slytherin abruptly began sliding down his body and when he reached Harry's waist, the warmth of his mouth closed about his arousal.

Harry fell back against the couch, feeling like he had died and gone to heaven. He'd had numerous blow jobs from women in the past, but none of them had elicited the exotic, nerve tingling sensations he was feeling in that moment. The Slytherin's tongue had been blessed with the talent of the gods he thought, and he felt himself once again headed toward the brink of orgasm.

Draco could tell that what he was doing was generating an extreme amount of excitement within the Gryffindor; it wasn't surprising considering Harry's drunkenness and the newness of the experience. However, he had a feeling that the Gryffindor would not be so prone to go around twice in one evening, no matter how drunk he was and there was much more he expected to achieve before the night was over.

He had to bring the Gryffindor back down to earth a bit and he knew exactly how to do so. He quickly retrieved his wand from his wizard weapon pocket and cast a quick silent spell. Draco allowed his wand to slip to the floor as he began edging one of his now slick fingers beneath Harry's scrotum.

Harry's hand had come gently to rest on his head in the interim, clearly urging Draco to continue and the Slytherin promptly recaptured his arousal with his mouth. Harry emitted a breathy groan and began gently lacing his fingers through the soft locks of hair beneath them.

Draco's initial probes were gentle and soft and a small tensing of the body was the only reaction he got from Harry. However, when he added a little more pressure and began his grand entrance, Harry gasped and jerked his body upward.

'Relax,' Draco prodded lifting his mouth momentarily from its duty.

He captured the arousal again and in the same motion pressed his finger forward again. A bigger gasp, but the sturdy attention of his mouth seemed to quell the Gryffindor's desire to flee from his touch.

His idea appeared to have worked; Harry seemed to have backed away from the brink once more. Draco continued with his ministrations, his finger making further strides as his mouth moved to negate any discomfort the action might cause. It wasn't long before Harry's hips began moving in concert with Draco's mouth and finger; apparently having adjusted to the small intrusion.

Not long after, Harry's ardor began to build again and Draco slowly lifted himself from the Gryffindor and began sliding his body upward and his jeans downward at the same time. They fell to the floor near Harry's clothes with his shoes bundled within them.

Harry pulled his shirt off and edged himself downward on the couch, so he was lying next to Draco who was struggling a little to remove his shirt.

Draco tossed his shirt away and then pressed his body into Harry's, urging him onto his side facing away from him. The Slytherin once again began attacking Harry's neck with his moist lips, his free arm curving over Harry's body and caressing the muscles in his chest.

Draco's hand began to drift downward until it lay upon the Gryffindor's thigh and he began to draw that limb upward, his hand caressing it into place. He then adjusted his body slightly until it was pressed close to the Gryffindor's.

The Slytherin wiggled his trapped arm free and slid it down along Harry's back at the same moment his other hand slid around and began caressing Harry's arousal. Harry gasped, then gasped even louder and jumped at Draco's attempt to place his arousal where his finger had been.

Draco waited a few seconds, kissing Harry's neck and massaging his arousal; his own excitement leaping when the woodsy scent once again struck his nose. The second attempt didn't go much better, although Draco did manage to just penetrate before Harry yelped with pain.

'Shit,' Harry said brusquely, 'that fucking hurts,' he complained, lifting his body upward once more.

'Relax, Harry,' Draco said suavely, his hand moving over Harry's waning arousal.

Harry was fairly certain that he could not relax enough. 'I don't-, ouch! Dammit!'

Draco hadn't waited, but had instead plunged himself forward again, this time breaking through the muscle.

'Relax,' Draco said again.

'That's easy enough for you to say,' Harry murmured swiftly in response.

A small gust of a chuckle escaped Draco, 'just try to relax, Harry. It hurts for a few moments, but then comes the pleasure and it is simply incomparable.'

Harry believed Draco; everyone had confirmed that there was pain followed by extreme pleasure, but they had also said most of the pain could be blocked out by a little alcohol. Well he had had a lot of alcohol and his inebriation was not serving to block the pain at all as far as he was concerned.

Draco had continued moving behind him, but now very slowly, barely moving at all in fact and his hand had begun its soothing motion over Harry's arousal once more, which had inexplicably hardened again.

Harry wanted the pleasure; he had talked himself into wanting it earlier and his drunken mind did not cease to remind him of that fact. He allowed his body to relax; it was easy in that moment, Draco wasn't making much progress.

It was a slow process; Harry seemed to have a low threshold for pain, lower than Draco's and that of the other wizard the Slytherin had been with. However, after a rather long period of gentle prodding, Harry appeared to become accustomed to the small spasms of pain that moved through him with each slip of the inch and finally Draco managed to work his way inside.

Harry was indeed growing used to the pain, albeit slowly and he had finally began to relax a bit more. That was when he noticed that his short nails had been digging into Draco's thigh. They were too short to have done any harm, but he figured it had to have hurt a bit…well, he thought as he loosened his grip, tit for tat.

Draco's movement became more fluid and Harry noted the deeper slow thrusts grew less and less painful. And then it happened. Just as Draco had promised, as everyone had sworn would be the case. Draco's arousal touched something inside of him that set a surge of pleasure running through his soul.

Harry gasped again, this time with what could only be called ecstasy and Draco smiled lightly behind him. He was genuinely happy that Harry had finally began to feel pleasure in their act, he wasn't certain how much longer he would be able to last. That wasn't generally a problem, but the tightness encapsulating his arousal, the time it had taken to get it there and Harry's sudden reaction to the pleasure he felt, had all served to quickly send his ardor to a new level.

Draco slowly began increasing his pace, his hand neglecting to stroke Harry's arousal as his pleasure began to build. Harry placed a hand over Draco's fist and helped him keep going as the Slytherin began to moan in a non stop fashion behind him. Draco suddenly lurched forward, totally encompassing Harry as climax swept through his body.

Draco buried his face in Harry's neck and the deep groan falling from his lips vibrated against the warm skin, the scent making the moment all the more heady.

Harry felt Draco's warm seed spurting into his body just after Draco had once again sent him reeling with feeling from touching his sweet spot with his penetration. The feeling was exhilarating and Harry found himself more stimulated than he'd ever been in his life by the experience.

When Draco's body finally relaxed, he slowly slipped his softened member from Harry and fell back into the couch, taking his hand that had been wrapped about Harry's member with him.

Draco felt the couch moving a little heatedly beneath him and his eyes fluttered open. Harry was finishing himself off. Draco forced himself up and moved down to take over Harry's exertions with his mouth once more. A deep, guttural moan escaped Harry's throat in response to his action and Draco felt the Gryffindor's body began to grow tense beneath him.

Draco had barely begun before Harry's orgasm hit. His body went rigid and his hands came down to rest lightly against the Slytherin's head in a silent plea for him to stay with it. Draco wasn't going anywhere; he allowed the Gryffindor to finish before rising and once again lying at his side in utter exhaustion.

Harry understood; he felt like he'd been hit by a lightening bolt. His body was still tingling with excitement as it began to relax, and the last thing he recalled was the feel of the Slytherin's calf coming to rest against his own before blackness overtook him.

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When Harry awoke the first thing he noticed was the tremendous pain stabbing at his head. Shortly thereafter he adjusted his body a little and felt the keen pain to his rear.

He'd done it, he thought, the purportedly straight Harry Potter was just a little more crooked this morning. Then he immediately ceased thinking about it. Draco had apparently left for his own bed at some point, although his clothes from the evening before were still lying on the ground next to Harry's.

Harry edged his body upward knocking off the blanket someone had kindly placed over him and reached for his jeans. He fumbled around for his wand and grasped it a little desperately. He quickly shot a spell at his head and then one at his rear for good measure.

The spells began working almost immediately and the Gryffindor was finally able to stand up with next to no physical pain. He stumbled slightly as he gained his feet and slowly began to dress. Once he was clothed, he made his way to the bathroom where he discovered a small anatomical anomaly which he quickly took care of with his wand.

He moved out of the restroom and toward the front door, refusing to allow his mind to do any thinking whatsoever. When he finally made it out into the sun he felt his body relax; he had managed to avoid the Slytherin. He apparated home where he settled himself into his private Jacuzzi, much smaller than Draco's, but just as soothing to the body and mind.

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Draco headed into the front room fully expecting to have to rouse Harry from his slumber and was a little surprised to see that the Gryffindor had already left. He noted that the elves had yet to straighten the room.

He moved toward the couch intending to collect his clothes, but instead he sat down. The liquor bottle and drinking glasses were still on the table and the sight brought back a sharp memory of the evening before.

It had been a little quizzing to him how quickly Harry had allowed himself to be seduced. He shook his head recalling that he'd set the timetable at two weeks just the previous evening. Of course they had both been pretty wasted and Harry had been the worse off for it. Still, the night had exceeded his expectations.

Draco had expected to feel the long awaited excitement, but the experience had been far more satiating than he imagined. Harry was a baby for pain and considering his past that almost seemed ludicrous. But there was something terribly fetching about it and about the entire evening.

Draco laughed a little at the memory of Harry's reactions and then felt a momentary trickle of excitement run through his body at the memory of the feeling Harry had generated within him, quite unknowingly, once he had become accustomed to having him inside of him. The Gryffindor seemed to have a natural capacity for knowing how to make his partner shiver with lust and his reactions were equally stimulating.

There had been nothing of the languid, almost feminine reactions of Lucian or the tense, reluctant excitement of the other man he had been with. Harry had remained Harry throughout; even his drunkenness hadn't affected his character. There was something to be said about that, although Draco wasn't sure exactly what it was.

It reminded him of himself for one thing; he didn't slip into a second character during sex. And like him, Harry was sensual in a strong way; he had managed to draw Draco completely into the experience; something the Slytherin often did for others, but was rarely done for him.

He ran his hand over his face and catching a woodsy scent upon it, left it near his nose a little longer than intended.

It had been everything he had hoped for; entirely satiating the aching in his soul that cried out for a masculine touch. The feeling was invigorating and the sensations it evoked were unequaled. He again began to feel that his days were numbered when it came to sleeping with women.

He moved his hand under his nose again and realized that the ache hadn't really dissipated. He wanted more and he wanted it soon and he wanted it with Harry. The realization struck him negatively and he quickly stood and began gathering his clothes.

He never fallen into the trap of feeling an ongoing desire for one person and he had no intention of starting now; no matter how good, or distinct or satiating the experience had been. He liked to spread his wings and keep them spread; perhaps they could get together again one day in the future…the distant future.

He hoped Harry wouldn't press for an immediate repeat performance; he enjoyed their relationship and wouldn't like to see it marred by a negative reaction by Harry on account of his refusal of a second encounter any time soon. Considering Harry's character he doubted it, but it would be best if the issue never came up.

Of course it was always possible that Harry, like his last male lover, would decide against ever being with a man again.

Draco abruptly stood up and grabbed his clothes from the ground. Gripping them tightly in his hands, he strode from the room.

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A/N: Please review if you are enjoying the story; it really motivates one to continue. Just a quick word or two would be great.


	4. Chapter 4

**To Lay A Dragon**

**All of the delectable characters belong to JK Rowling. **

**Chapter 4**

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Harry had spent most of the morning attempting not to think. He fed his owl Hedwig, had a huge breakfast and then fire-called Ron through his fireplace floo and invited him over to watch the games on his wide magical screen.

Ron turned up about a half hour later and the two settled on the couch in Harry's den to watch the series of out of town and foreign games that would be broadcast.

Harry still shared everything with his best mate and while he had been avoiding thinking about what he had done with Draco the evening before, he found himself wishing to discuss it with his friend. He had desisted from thinking about it because he knew he would have difficulty putting perspective on the evening and Ron was fairly good at assisting him in that regard.

As usual, he moved directly to topic, 'so I didn't go home last night after the party.'

Ron made a slightly vulgar expression, 'had your way with one of the tarts, eh?'

'Not exactly,' Harry hedged.

Ron raised his brows in question.

'Well you remember what Michael Corner was talking about at the Rooster a while back? What he said he had tried out with Lucian, Draco's friend?

Ron went immobile, staring at Harry as his mind clicked through Michael, Lucian and finally on the topic of their conversation once more. His brows moved upward another notch, 'you and Michael?'

'Na-o,' responded Harry, his head motion accompanying the word indicating his friend was way off.

'But you were with a guy last night?' Ron's voice held mild surprise.

Harry nodded briefly.

Ron's lips formed a quick smile and then laughter rang from his throat, 'really?' he asked through his mirth, 'with whom?'

'Draco Malfoy.'

A small amount of incredulity flittered across Ron's features for a moment, but then his laughter took over again, 'you're kidding?'

'Nope.'

'Shit,' Ron said, still unable to contain his laughter.

Harry watched his friend laughing and a small, whimsical smile fell about his mouth.

Ron finally got a hold of himself, 'how the hell did you end up with Malfoy last night? And in the sack of all things?'

The magical screen roared and both Harry and Ron turned to look at the screen. The Tigers, the foreign team they were for had scored.

'Wooooooot!' roared Ron.

'Yaaah!' Harry yelled at the same time.

They sat and watched the replay they had missed.

'Sweet move,' Harry mused, watching the play.

'That's Terry Bullard, just got drafted to the team; he looks pretty dangerous.'

Harry nodded.

Ron turned to his friend again once the game had resumed, 'so what exactly happened last night? Last I recall you were talking with my teammates.'

Harry laughed a little and began to recount the details of the evening, a fairly straight forward, unemotional account much like what Michael had related to them previously about his little escapade with a man.

'Cor blimey!' Ron exclaimed when he finished, 'that is just…' Ron shook his head and immediately broke into laughter again.

'It isn't that fuckin' funny, mate,' Harry said a little grimly.

Ron sobered a bit, 'come now,' he chuckled again, 'I mean even you have to see that it is a little odd, you and Malfoy, of all people, snuggling up for a shag.'

Harry shrugged, 'Michael was right about one thing; the experience is pretty wicked.'

'I know,' Ron said and had the good grace to flush a little.

'You know? And you didn't tell me?'

Ron shrugged, 'it was nothing really, one crazy night Bill and I got together after listening to Michael rave on about it. We tried it out on each other and I admit, it was a pretty awesome feeling, but nothing I am particularly interested in repeating.'

Harry chuckled, 'you and Bill?' His chuckled turned into genuine laughter.

'No stranger than you and Malfoy.'

Harry titled his head in acknowledgement, 'but Bill? He's an animal and I can only imagine that the two of you made a mull of it, seeing as neither of you knew what you were doing.'

'You can say that again,' Ron said, his face screwing up a little at the memory, 'painful and to be honest with you a little disgusting. Bill is…well you know how he is. But by the end, well it felt pretty damned good.'

Harry's face screwed up as well thinking about Bill. He was large and rather ungainly; he imagined Ron hadn't had a very pleasant experience, at least on the receiving end. He was thankful that Draco had at least had some experience; he seemed to know how to guide a person through to the pleasure well enough.

'The thing is, I love all the foreplay, you know, the kissing and touching and stuff. You only get that with a soft, feminine beauty beneath you. I mean it felt good after the pain subsided,' Ron continued, 'but the slam, bam, wham, aspect of it is just not as cool as sex with a slim, sexy vixen squirming beneath you.'

'Yeah,' Harry said as if in agreement. He was recalling the rather ardent kissing that he and Draco had pursued as well as Draco's hand and mouth which had caressed his body better than any woman ever had.

'I guess everyone should experience it though, pretty wicked experience for a one shot.' Ron grinned, 'and I suppose Malfoy wouldn't be so klutzy about it the way Bill was.' Ron chuckled again while turning to look at the game.

'Yeah,' Harry said again, training his eyes on the screen. While speaking with Ron, one thing had become clear; a one-shot wasn't going to do it for him. That first shot he'd had to go through the pain and such. He was interested in verifying his belief that the next time would be something far more wicked.

Harry and Ron finished watching the game and then the two that followed, eating food prepared by Harry's sole house elf (the one Hermione complained to him about every time she saw him – thank god she lived in Bulgaria) and drinking a few beers.

When the final game ended, Ron suggested they head out to the Unicorn where other players would gather after the games. Harry agreed and Ron apparated home to change while Harry moved upstairs to his bedroom.

Harry began thinking about his little jaunt into the world of masculine mating and a wry smile cross his lips when he thought about repeating the experience. He'd really thought he would only want to try it out once, see what it was and experience the pleasure. He had had no notion that he would enjoy it so much.

In his opinion Draco had been the perfect person to try it out with. They got on well and Draco had experience and while skilled at manipulating his body to a lustful finish, he wouldn't end up falling all over him like a love struck puppy.

That was important to the Gryffindor; he wasn't ready to move into any type of relationship with anyone, male or female. Harry decided that if he were going to try it out again, it should be with the Slytherin once more. That would be playing it safe, which wasn't generally important to him, but always easier.

Harry recalled the women he'd slept with who had tried to make more of the relationship after the one night of bliss. It was something he really hated dealing with and as a result he had begun making his intentions clear prior to stepping into bed with them. At least when he was sober enough to remember to do so.

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The Unicorn was crowded as usual and Harry joined his team at a table after stopping to talk to Ron for a bit. He got into a discussion with Blaise about strategy and neither joined in with those issuing loud barbs at other teams across the tables.

Harry noticed Draco come in, an hour or so after he had, but merely glanced at him before turning his eyes back to Blaise. Draco hadn't been looking his way, so they never made eye contact and he noticed that through the night, Draco seemed less verbose than normal. He too appeared to have become engaged in private conversation with one of his teammates.

Harry and Blaise talked for some time with Michael joining in their conversation and the night grew late. Players started leaving, heading out for other locals and the number remaining dwindled significantly. Ron made his way over to the Dragon table, his mates all having taken off and sat down and joined in the conversation. A couple of guys from the Wingers, the other London based team did the same.

Harry saw the Slayer table break up and watched Draco and one of their beaters move toward the Dragon table. They sat down and the small group of eight continued talking Quidditch for another hour.

'The night grows late, and we are still here,' Michael said, yawning.

'Yeah, this is a bust,' one of the Wingers, Mal, agreed.

'Where shall we go?' Ron asked, slugging down the rest of his beer.

'The Rooster?' Michael suggested.

Most of the table groaned and Draco spoke up, 'I heard they opened a new little place in the South; small but supposedly pretty wicked, lots of loose women and men or whatever else you might like.'

A few chuckles greeted his words and within a few minutes they decided to investigate the new little club.

The club was almost as subdued as the bar except that there were a good many more people. Everyone was seated at tables grouped about the room, drinking and talking and the music in the background was low, almost drowned out by the chatter.

The eight friends grabbed beers from the bar, found a table and sat down.

'Well this looks lively,' Ron muttered in a bored tone.

'A real party,' Michael agreed, rolling his eyes while ringing his finger in the air in a mockery of celebration.

'Hey,' Draco said shrugging, 'I just heard about it opening up, I didn't say it was any good.'

The others began a small bout of ridicule, but Draco seemed to take it in stride.

'I say we finish up these beers and head over to the Roost or maybe the Naked Maiden, haven't been there for a while,' commented Mal.

'I say we go give the Veelas another try,' Ron commented, 'I swear, one of them nearly left with me the other night.'

Harry began what turned into a chorus of groans.

'I'm going home after this beer,' Draco said dryly.

'Like hell you are,' Blaise roared, 'its Saturday night you boring fuck.'

Draco grimaced at his friend and took another swig of his beer, 'not in the mood,' he murmured.

'A pitcher first,' Blaise said, winking as he arose to obtain one.

The pitcher of beer turned into seven pitchers of hellfire spirits during which the topic of Quidditch was debated among the group. When the seventh pitcher was bottoming out, several of the lads took off for greener pastures. By the end, only Draco, Blaise, Harry, Ron and Michael remained. They were all quite drunk and boisterous and shortly ordered another pitcher while they continued to loudly boast about their best Quidditch plays.

Ron finally arose unsteadily from his seat and declared he was going home. It was half past four in the morning and there was little else one could do. Harry stood and indicated he'd go with him and the others began rising as well.

Truth told, Harry, feeling the effects of the alcohol, had gotten to thinking about sex again. His eyes had found Draco's hands now and again throughout the evening and he was only a little surprised at the effect they still seemed to have over his libido.

However, propositioning Draco tonight seemed a little precipitate considering they had just humped like rabbits the night before and it wasn't like the Slytherin had been at all encouraging during the night. He didn't want to appear too _eager_, although, in all honesty he rather was.

Harry followed Ron from the bar while the others hung back a bit. When they arrived outside Ron turned to him, nearly tripping in the attempt and smiled drunkenly.

'You want to come by for a bit?' The words slurred out nicely.

Harry chuckled, 'and watch you pass out?'

A moue of disgust passed over Ron's face, 'bollocks! I'm stout as a trout.'

'You're bloody rat-arsed,' Harry responded wryly.

'Oh maybe a bit of,' Ron muttered, 'but no more than you.'

Harry laughed, it was true. However, he held his liquor a bit better. Not that that was saying much; there were few who couldn't hold their liquor better than Ron.

'I'm off to the pit,' Harry said finally, using the fond nickname he'd christened his home with.

'Alright then,' Ron responded, pulling out his wand, 'toddles.'

Harry watched Ron apparate, wondering if he would end up splinching himself as he had on previous occasions. He pulled out his own wand and just as he was about to apparate, he noted Blaise and Draco leaving the bar.

Harry quickly apparated home without allowing himself to glance at Draco's hands – again – and entered the front hall. He noted that Hedwig had left a couple of letters on a table at the entryway and moved to retrieve them.

One was from Hermione and it was extremely long and the writing cramped. He loved her to death, but deciphering a letter from her after a night of drinking was out of the question. He laid it down and picked up the other letter. It was from his godfather. He eagerly opened the note and grinned appreciatively when he saw that Sirius was coming for a visit the next day.

With all of the tragedy that had befallen Harry during the war, there had been a few bright spots. One was that his closest friends, Ron, Ginny and Hermione had survived and another was the little miracle of his godfather's miraculous return to him after he had been assumed dead.

Sirius had been like an anchor to him after the war and supported his decision to play for the Dragons…and enjoy all of the debauchery that accompanied it. Sirius, who had never been very serious in his youth, had much the same attitude now with a number of years behind him. His mental recovery from a long stint in Azkaban prison had been helped along by a damning duel with death he later underwent, and he'd emerged only slightly affected by the cumulative experiences.

Harry loved the man like a father and he was also fond of Remus Lupin, who Sirius had immediately taken up with upon returning to the world of the living. They were both coming along on the morrow and would arrive in the afternoon. The thought of their arrival filled Harry with happiness and something else.

The careless, rather ribald nature of his godfather had rubbed off on him and infused with that influence by the mere casualty of the letter having arrived, he suddenly reached the conclusion that two nights in a row of merry sex with merry Malfoy wouldn't be such a tasteless thing to do after all.

Perhaps his decision was slightly buffered by drink, but Harry's mind was busily replaying the memory of his godfather marching up to Remus at a party, grabbing him and snogging him like there was no tomorrow. It had been his manner of announcing to the world that they were a couple. Well Harry too could be so bold, he thought, like godfather, like godson.

He laid down the letter and grasped the wand he still held a little tighter and apparated.

Harry arrived in front of Draco's home a moment later and knocked on the door, a bit more loudly than appropriate for the near dawn hours.

It was opened rather quickly by a house elf who looked wide awake and greeted Harry as if it were mid-day and not at all strange or downright insane for one to go calling on ones friends at five o'clock in the morning.

'Is Draco in?' Harry inquired.

'I'll just have a gander; back in a wink,' replied the elf.

She sauntered off and left a rather bemused Harry standing on the front porch. He'd rather expected more formality.

Draco himself arrived shortly thereafter and pulled the door open. He was in a night robe and his eyes carried the marks of drunk-induced sleepiness mixed with discontent at being interrupted from finding his bed.

'Up for a drink?' Harry asked, his voice carrying way to much cheer for the occasion.

Draco looked at him with a hint of disgruntlement invading his expression, 'it's five o clock in the morning, damn it!'

Harry inclined his head in acknowledgment.

Draco's face took on a slightly mulish look, 'listen Potter, I'm sleeping alone tonight.'

Harry stared at Draco for a couple of seconds and then his eyes began to twinkle. His familiar wide smile began stretching across his features as he continued to meet the Slytherin's eyes. 'So you are,' he said matter-of-factly and the second the words were out of his mouth, he disappeared.

Draco stood staring at the air where Harry had been. He was a little taken aback at the abrupt disaparation. _That _was not what Draco had expected; not at all. The blimey idiot hadn't even _tried._ Not that the Slytherin was certain that he wanted Harry to have tried, and perhaps it was his ego propelling the sensation of disquiet that had settled over him, but everyone who had ever propositioned him and failed in the past had at least given it a good, healthy go.

He stepped back inside and slammed the door.

A little house elf appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, 'going out now then sir?'

'Do I bloody look like I'm going out?' Draco yelled, his tone furious.

'I wouldn't be knowing about that,' said the house elf, not at all bothered by her employer's moods; they shifted like the sands of the desert.

'I am going out in my night robe?' Draco asked sarcastically, continuing to expel his irritation.

The elf regarded Draco from head to toe, 'I'd recommend shoes,' she responded smartly.

After a moment, Draco's laughter bubbled up. In the olden days, back when he lived at Malfoy manor with his parents, the Slytherin would have ridiculed and punished an elf for speaking to him in such a manner. But those days were long past and in fact, the elves that ran his household were rather fond of their employer.

Draco turned and trundled up the stairs toward his master suite. He began thinking that he perhaps should have been a little less rude with Potter. Not that he had ever given a care about proper after-shagging manners, but there was some merit to the notion that one should at least be decent about denying sex to a person when you'd been the first to bugger him.

Draco shrugged his robe off onto the floor and moved toward the bed. If Harry had been a bit more persistent, he thought, he would have likely adjusted his attitude and been a little more graceful about refusing his request.

He wondered if Harry would be upset about it and after a small amount of consideration decided that perhaps he would be a bit of, but knowing the Gryffindor he would shrug it off and move on.

Move on…now there was a thought. Draco considered who Harry might seek out next; who would be next to breathe in that woodsy scent, listen to him choking out those little gasps and sounds of pleasure and feel the insane, delightful tightness…

Draco squeezed his eyes closed and fell against the mattress of his large bed, grabbing a pillow and pulling it over his head. Speculative thinking at 5 a.m. had never been a friend of his. He closed his eyes and determinedly thought of the night sky – a moonless one.

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A/N: Please R&R…if you continue to like it, I'll keep writing.


	5. Chapter 5

**To Lay A Dragon**

**All of the delectable characters belong to JK Rowling. **

**Chapter 5**

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Sirius Black was sound of mind and spirit having overcome a harrowing escape from death, but since his return to the wizard world some five years before, his attitude had adjusted a little. While still rather careless and wild in the main, he had taken up a couple of causes with such earnest zeal; some were left pondering whether he was indeed Sirius Black.

The first was the complete overhaul of the Azkaban system. Although the Dementors had been gone from its walls since the war, the Ministry was determined to continue the practice of inflicting torture on its prisoners. With his godson, the war hero behind him, Sirius fought with Remus at his side together with a good number of like-thinking wizards and successfully reformed Azkaban into a high security prison free of torture.

Sirius' next cause had been more personal; to improve the standing of werewolves in the wizard community. Several werewolves had assisted the Order during the war and their efforts together with hero Potter's continued support allowed for Sirius' success in having laws that prejudiced them stripped from the books. He also used a portion of his immense fortune toward improvement of the wolfsbane potion. Now werewolves not only retained their human minds and transformed under direct moonlight, but the process was nearly painless. As a result of these changes, it had become easier for them to find employment and live within the wizard world.

Some felt Sirius was going to become one of the great crusaders of the era; fostering changes within the wizard community that were long overdue. However, with the two things that mattered most to him accomplished, Sirius released the reins of seriousness and immediately fell out of the forefront of society and into a cozy, carefree and rather undomesticated life of leisure with Remus.

As the more astute in society observed, could you really expect anything less from an ex-Marauder? His fellow crusaders had thrown up their hands in disgust at his defection, fuming that they hadn't recognized Sirius Black for the frivolous miscreant he'd always been. They moved on to their next project, assisting the Vampires, without him and thereafter any member who attempted to retire from their ranks was nastily accused of 'pulling a Black.'

Despite his move toward frivolity, Sirius did take his responsibility as Harry's godfather seriously. However, his interpretation of 'seriously' may not have been exactly what James, Harry's father, had in mind when granting him guardianship. But Sirius was deeply fond of his godson so though some of his advice to Harry likely had James giving him severe kicks in the arse from the wizard after-world, his heart was in the right place.

When he and his boyfriend Remus arrived at Harry's home, the door flew open before they had crossed the porch and Harry raced out to greet them. Sirius enveloped Harry in a warm hug, rocking him back and forth a little.

'I've missed you,' he said a little hoarsely.

'I've missed you too, Sirius,' Harry responded, his tone awash with sincerity.

Sirius slowly released him and his eyes began to twinkle, 'so, what have you got to eat?' he asked rubbing his hands together before him.

'Sirius,' Remus chided as he moved forward to envelope Harry in a warm hug of his own which was returned with equal fervor.

'Don't tell me you allowed that little bookworm to talk you out of keeping an elf around to help,' Sirius said to Harry as Remus released him.

'Bookworm?' Remus' pragmatic stare and tone indicated his displeasure; he was rather fond of books himself as his love well knew.

'You're not a bookworm Remus, you just like books. Hermione on the other hand, I think…I think she eats them.'

Remus gave his boyfriend a disapproving look, but he joined in Harry's laughter.

'Ubin is still working for me,' Harry said through his mirth, 'in fact, last time Hermione was here and tried to get him to quit he put pepper in her pumpkin juice.'

Sirius and Remus both laughed.

'And yes, he has prepared a huge early dinner for us. I figured you would be hungry, you always are when you arrive.'

'Apparation does that to a man,' Sirius responded in his low rollicking tone.

'Apparation, walking, talking, waking up; everything makes you hungry, Siri,' Remus' teased.

Sirius rounded on Remus with hunger leaping from his stomach into his eyes, 'true, and not only for food.'

Remus' dark eyes were quite in sync with his boyfriends' innuendo for a moment, but then he quickly collected himself. 'You were saying that Ubin has dinner ready?' he asked, turning to face Harry.

Harry chuckled and led them into the small dining room where they settled around the comfortable table to a delicious meal.

'So what have you been up to, Harry?' Remus asked.

'Not much,' Harry responded, 'more of the same; practice, games, partying.'

Sirius gave a bark of laughter, 'hopefully partying in equal proportion with the rest. From what I have heard, you Quidditch lot are fairly wild.'

'No more than anyone else,' Harry responded.

'Liar,' Sirius declared roundly.

Harry shrugged a little, conceding his godfather the point.

'Don't get me wrong, I think it's great Harry; you should have as much fun as you can before you settle down. And I daresay you'll settle down because its in your genes, just like your father, but even he managed to sow a few wild oats first.' Sirius paused and looked at the ceiling, 'well quite a few wild oats if I remember correctly, there were a number of-'

'Sirius,' Remus cut in frowning, 'don't start in with the sordid details.'

Harry laughed, 'I like hearing the stories, I know he wasn't a saint before he and my mum finally got together.'

'Well if memory serves you have heard a good number of stories and most of them were embellished by your godfather's vivid imagination.' Remus glared at Sirius, but there was fondness lurking in the depths of his eyes.

Sirius shrugged and laughed a bit, 'what's the point of telling a boring tale?'

'You've got Harry believing his father was an incurable Don Juan only second to yourself in the area of seduction,' Remus said dryly.

Sirius laughed and Harry joined him.

'I don't think that,' Harry sputtered, still laughing, 'I know some of the tales are a bit exaggerated, but you have to admit they make for fine entertainment.'

'He's just upset because in all the stories he is off reading somewhere while James and I had all the fun.'

Remus rolled his eyes, but his lips were still eased in a smile.

Harry's wide smile remained as well. He felt a warm glow about his home when his godfather and Remus came to visit and felt that they were right in that he would one day settle down. He loved the feeling of being surrounded by loved ones and the careless chatter allowed by familiarity.

'Harry,' Remus said a bit louder in an attempt to override the last topic, 'so are you seeing anyone special?'

'No,' Harry said quickly. However the mirth slipping from his features and the slight color suddenly heightening his cheeks didn't escape the notice of those present.

'Um,' Sirius mused.

Harry suddenly found his salad very interesting. Of all people in the word, the two men before him would completely understand and approve of his new found enjoyment of same sex relations, and he wanted to discuss it with them. However, he'd yet to work out what exactly he wanted to say.

'Who is she?' Sirius asked, his tone knowing.

Harry looked up, 'no one, really,' he replied.

'Harry you stopped blushing ages ago,' Sirius said, chuckling a little, 'so are you going to tell us or are you going to make the Marauders find out for themselves?'

It was true; Harry rarely blushed anymore and he was generally very straight forward. He also knew that Sirius had made no idle threat. Despite the fact that half of the Marauder's were missing, he and Remus had proven that the two remaining were quite adept at handling the responsibilities of the four in getting things accomplished, and in discovering things that others did not want discovered.

'It isn't anything really,' Harry said finally, his voice uncharacteristically hesitant, 'I just…I just tried something new, that's all.'

'Something new?' Sirius pressed.

'Siri, he clearly doesn't wish to speak about it,' Remus interjected.

'Well he has no bloody choice but to do so now. Something new you say, Harry?'

Harry looked up and grinned, 'I slept with Draco Malfoy.'

Stunned silence wasn't exactly what he had expected, but it was exactly what he got. For a few moments anyway.

'I didn't see that coming at all,' Sirius said finally, his voice a gasp above a whisper. His fork, loaded with a nice bite of food, hung suspended in the air.

Harry's wide smile returned and with it most of his new strength of character, 'well it is nothing really, just gave it a go, that's all.'

'With Draco Malfoy?' Sirius' face was unfathomable.

'We are friends now, he plays for the Slayers.'

'Yes I know and its not surprising that you might become friends, it is just you slept…with a Malfoy?' Sirius shook his head a little.

'Well they both play for Quidditch teams,' Remus said, cutting into his pie, 'makes sense they might become friends and-'

'But a Malfoy?' Sirius repeated, cutting Remus off mid stride.

Remus frowned, 'well there's dashed little the lad can do about his surname, Sirius, it isn't like he is his father or anything. His entire family and likely most of his friends are sitting quite prettily in Azkaban, but Draco made a turn about during the war, you know that.'

'It isn't anything serious,' Harry said, his tone jovial, 'just trying out a new experience, that's all.' No need to expound on how much he'd enjoyed the experience or on the fact that the memory of that night seemed to flitter with increasing frequency through his mind.

Sirius' frown remained for a long minute then slowly began to dissipate and of a sudden he lifted his brows, 'well, at least it wasn't a Snape,' he muttered before biting into the pie that had been precariously close to falling from his fork.

Harry laughed and Remus chuckled as well. They well knew that Sirius' hatred for Severus Snape hadn't dissipated in the least over the years.

'And Harry,' Sirius continued solemnly when their laughter abated, 'your little experience…it's not something new.'

Harry grinned broadly, his eyes twinkling.

The topic was allowed to drop and the rest of the meal was finished in cozy conversation and catching up with one another. When they finished, they retired to the den and watched a re-broadcast of an earlier Quidditch match.

It wasn't long before both Remus and Sirius began dozing before the large screen and Harry discovered that neither had slept the evening before traveling to his home. He ordered them to his guest room and when they protested that they wished to visit more, he advised them that he had to go out in any case for a couple of hours.

Sirius and Remus gave in, they were staying an entire week and would have plenty of time to chat, not to mention they were exhausted.

When they were comfortably ensconced in the guestroom, Harry moved to his own room and changed, donning a rather circumspect robe. Tucking his wand into the inner sleeve, he quickly departed, grabbing Hermione's letter from the mail stand as he moved through the entry hall and into the cold evening air.

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Draco sat waiting in the small, dismal visiting room at Azkaban. A small, non-descript table sat before him and an empty chair faced him from the other side. It was already evening, but the lighting in the room made it seem as if large windows lined the walls letting in the noon day sun.

Draco supposed the lighting assisted the Aurors in monitoring the visits and ensuring that visitors did not try to slip some forbidden item to the prisoners. Not that every crevice of his body hadn't been checked before he was allowed in. The security Auror had been so very thorough this time, Draco had been tempted to press sexual molestation charges when the man finished.

He sighed again as he waited. His mother had just left after a rather trying session during which she had asked little about his life and instead expounded on the wrongs in the world that had culminated in her stay in Azkaban – as usual. He'd brought her fresh handkerchiefs with her initials embroidered in the corner as requested; she never explained what she used them for and he didn't ask.

He loved her dearly, though as a consequence of being touched by Voldemort, she was a bit barmy and tended to speak to him in rather harsh tones. He supposed his father's tones would be downright full of venom as by the end of the war he and the Dark Lord had been bosom buddies, but Lucius refused to see him.

Before that he'd seen Crabbe and Goyle, in tandem, and he'd given them Auror pre-searched and tested chocolates as he always did then sat listening to their insane ramblings. The ramblings were not a product of their incarceration; they were the same insane ramblings they'd spoken all of their lives.

Draco had visited the same four prisoners on the first of each month during the past five years. It always left him depressed; it was a forceful reminder of a portion of his past he wished to forget. He was well aware that the slightest variance in circumstance would have seen him seated on the other side of the equation in this dingy little room.

When his mother departed he sat tapping his fingers on the table, glad he'd just one person left to visit. The rear door opened and Draco sat up in his chair with a greeting on his lips that faded when he saw that an Auror had entered the room.

Draco raised his brows in question.

'It would seem that Severus Snape has another visitor at present. They still have about ten minutes left, if you would like to wait…?'

'Another visitor? Draco questioned. He raked his mind trying to figure out who other than himself would possibly visit Snape in Azkaban. Snape was universally hated by the wizard world. He had quite skillfully betrayed both sides during the war, the Order and then the Death Eaters and finally the Order AND the Death Eaters simultaneously. Very slick, but not quite slippery enough to evade the Aurors who'd finally caught up with him in the end and carted his arse off to Azkaban.

'We are not allowed to share information regarding prisoner visits,' the Auror responded, not unkindly. 'If you'd like to wait, I will send him along when his other visit has finished.'

Draco nodded dumbly and watched the Auror leave the room, his mind caught up in a whirlwind of speculation.

Snape had been given seven years for his crimes against the Order and Ministry, reduced from ten due to his crimes against the Death Eaters, none of which included murder. He had been exonerated for the death of Dumbledore long before the war ended; that, it was discovered, had been a plot Dumbledore had devised and Snape had merely carried out the old wizard's wishes.

However, after that outstanding event, Snape had been left pretty much up to his own devises and from what Draco could tell, he'd muddled it up pretty badly for himself in the end. As far as Draco knew, he was the only person in the wizard world who would even consider speaking to Snape at this juncture. Apparently he was mistaken.

Exactly twelve minutes later, the door opened again and this time Snape moved into the room. He hadn't changed much during the last five years. He looked the same as he always had, his long, black, greasy locks still hung lifelessly about his face and the ever present scowl and sneer that had creased his features as a professor were still strongly manifest.

Snape folded himself into the chair across from Draco and regarded the lad with a look of bored resolve.

'Good evening, Professor,' Draco said, rather respectfully under the circumstances.

'I am not your professor,' responded Snape, as he always did.

'How are things?'

'The same as they were last month when you visited, and the months before that and the years before that.'

'Just two more years to your sentence, sir. Not much longer to go really.'

'Joy,' Snape responded dully.

Draco adjusted himself a little more comfortably against the hard chair, 'the Auror said that you had another visitor.'

Snape's sneer grew in depth, 'did you think that you might be the only person in the world who took a precious moment of their day to visit the disreputable Snape?'

Draco's brows moved upward slightly, 'yes.'

'Well it would seem that you were mistaken.'

'Evidently. Who was your visitor?'

Snape crossed his arms over his chest, 'now why would that be any business of yours?'

'I was just curious.'

'Yes, well, so you shall remain.'

'A secret,' Draco whispered.

'Listen Malfoy, I should appreciate your coming to visit, but I do not. Frankly, as I have told you before, you really needn't bother.'

'It isn't a bother; I come to see my mother and a couple of friends in any case.'

'Well you can remove me from your list, it is likely too long as it is.'

'Actually it isn't. I only see four people now, and you are one of them.'

'I'm charmed, but it is unnecessary; you don't owe me any favours.'

'Well you saved my life. I haven't forgotten that.'

'Yes I did save your life. Really though, I hadn't a choice in the matter. I had made an oath to do so and I made that oath in order to save my own skin. So you see, there was nothing noble in the act whatsoever and you have nothing to be grateful for.'

'So you have told me. Many times.'

'And yet, still you come.'

Draco inclined his head.

Snape was silent for a few moments and then he narrowed his eyes at the younger Slytherin, 'I have gathered from the mumblings of a disgruntled Auror that he must clean up chocolate mess from the cells of those two little ex-minions of yours. Are you supplying them with the chocolate?'

'Crabbe and Goyle? Yes I do. They seem to appreciate it.'

Snape scowled, 'yes, I imagine it is the least you can do for them after using them so badly all those years at Hogwarts.'

Draco's eyes hardened a little, but he didn't respond.

'Not that I blame you for their ignorant decisions that landed them here,' Snape conceded.

Draco elevated his brows and his eyes sent the unmistakable message that Crabbe and Goyle had not been the only two that ignorantly landed themselves in Azkaban.

Snape received the message loud and clear and his expression deteriorated into something a little nastier if that were possible, 'despite the fact that I don't require that you visit, if you are going to return again, there is something you can do for me.'

'A favour?' Draco asked, his expression a little too taunting and his tone a little too bright.

Snape scowled deeply; it was obvious that his fingers itched to throttle the lad. 'I suppose you could call it that. I would like some chocolate.'

'Chocolate? Really?' Interesting that. Draco regarded Snape, his own eyes narrowing, 'as I recall you always disliked chocolate. In fact, I seem to recall you remarking that chocolate was nothing more than a fowl and nasty means of clogging up the system.'

'Be that as it may,' Snape said, his tone derisive, 'I would like some and if you are not willing to bring it that is fine.'

Draco's face relaxed, 'of course I will bring you some.'

Snape nodded briefly, 'unless you have something else to say I would like to retire to my cell now.'

Draco stood up, 'no, I just came to say hello as always. I will bring your chocolate shortly.'

Snape stood as well and moved quickly to the rear door without so much as a by-your-leave.

Draco frowned as he watched his ex-professor slither from the room. The man was odd at the best of times, but the request for chocolate was something new. Snape hated chocolate. And now Snape had another visitor; that was also something novel.

He turned and moved to the room's other door and rapped loudly upon it. An Auror came at once and escorted him to the offices where portkeys awaited visitors to transfer them off the island. Draco's brow remained creased as he followed the Auror. He began to wonder if the professor was planning something; something to do with chocolate. The man was a wonder at potions. An escape perhaps? He wondered if the plan, if there was a plan, had anything to do with the visitor who had been there earlier.

Draco sighed as he moved to place his hands on the London portkey. At least Snape hadn't gotten onto one of his rants about Potter and the Order. He had at times spent upward of ten minutes straight deriding and belittling the hero and anyone associated with him. For reasons that Draco did not wish to contemplate, that rant would have been just a touch more difficult to sit through this evening.

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Draco arrived in London depressed and decided to drop by the Unicorn. As it was Sunday evening and they had practice the next day, it was possible that no players would be present so late, but he decided to swing by and take his chances. Anything to lift his spirits a little.

Draco found that Ron Weasley and Mal Jamison were still present and sitting alone at a large table with a pitcher between them. He joined their table and was greeted loudly by his two Quidditch mates who appeared to have made an impromptu decision to take up drinking as a livelihood. They'd apparently been at the bar a good long while.

'Draco, where have you been all day?' Mal asked in a rowdy fashion, 'everyone has come and gone and in another minute you would have missed us as well.'

'I had some things to take care of.'

'Making up to some beautiful woman?' Mal considered for a moment, 'or a handsome man?' he laughed loudly.

Ron began to chuckle and Draco grinned.

'No, just personal shit. Unlike you two nitwits, I have other concerns beyond debauchery to see to,' Draco responded, downing his beer rather quickly and pouring out another.

Ron raised his brows, 'that's not what I've heard.'

Draco's eyes flashed upward to meet Ron's and then quickly down again.

'Oooh,' Mal purred, 'what's this then? A new bird or fowl on the perch for Draco?'

Ron belatedly realized his drink was talking through his mouth and clammed up.

The silence grew rather long and Mal was looking from Draco to Ron inquiringly.

Mal finally spoke, 'so what have you heard, Ron.'

Ron shrugged, 'I was just pissing around.'

'Ah. Speaking of which,' Mal said rising, 'be back in a flash.' He ran off rather hurriedly toward the service.

'Very discrete of you,' Draco commented when he and Ron were alone.

'Yeah, I'm a little plastered,' Ron said apologetically.

'Something tells me your good buddy might not like information about his personal life being passed about.'

'Something tells me you're right,' Ron responded, meeting Draco's eyes, 'although,' he continued, his tone suddenly ponderous, 'he actually wouldn't likely mind too much; he'll probably tell everyone about it himself. I mean, lots of people have tried the guy-guy thing and Harry is as normal as the next guy. He's not like you – I mean, he isn't going to make a habit of it or anything.'

'And how would you know that?'

'Because he told me. He thinks it feels pretty good, but overall the guy-guy thing is pretty disgusting.' Ron was actually recalling his own experience with the huge beater, Bill rather than the conversation he'd had earlier with Harry.

'Disgusting?'

'Well, you know what I mean,' Ron whined, 'if you prefer the babes like me and Harry, the other is just an experiment. For us it is a bit disgusting, but you look past all that for the thrill.'

Draco nodded slowly.

'All in the name of the thrill!' Ron declared holding up his drink. When he noticed Draco's lack of enthusiasm he sobered a little, belatedly realizing that he may have caused offense and quickly trying to back peddle, 'I don't mean to imply that there is anything disgusting about it if you like that sort of thing. It's just not for us, that's all.'

'Of course,' Draco murmured, happy to see Mal returning.

Draco turned the conversation to Quidditch when Mal sat down again Ron seemed happy enough to let the topic drop. The three remained for another pitcher before they turned their footsteps homeward.

When he was finally alone again, standing in front of the bar on the point of apparating, Draco considered Ron's words. So Potter had characterized their experience as a _disgusting_ experiment.

Draco didn't believe that Harry had found it disgusting in the least and it infuriated him that the Gryffindor would lie about it; obviously for the sole purpose of managing his reputation.

Like the rest of the wizard world, Quidditch players didn't give two twigs if one of their mates enjoyed a romp with a man. However, a player like Harry risked losing his macho-man reputation among the players if he admitted to enjoying the experience so much that he planned to continue the activity.

Draco had experienced the status decline from macho-man to just-another-run-of-the-mill wanker when he'd openly admitted his bi-sexuality. It hadn't matter to Draco one bit; it just meant being treated like everyone else rather than being held up as a demigod of the whorehounds.

The Slytherin found it repugnant that Harry would be deceitful about their experience merely to avoid the same thing happening to him. The Gryffindor obviously was abhorred by the idea that the players might cease to see him as some kind of bull stud beefcake and recognize him for the average wanker he obviously was.

He was suddenly glad that he had rudely shown the hero the door when he'd returned the night before seeking more _disgusting _sexual experimentation. Potter, Draco decided, could take his reputation and go to the devil. He began hoping that the Gryffindor would try for another go with him so that he could throw the entire matter in his face – and then rub it thoroughly into his damned, smug mug.

_Disgusting_ experiment indeed.

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A/N: Thank you Mandraco, Dreamsofdragons, Sarina, Seraphim9, Julie Long, RRW, Moonkazoo and Beasty for your reviews. It inspires one to keep writing when you know people are interested in the story. They were very encouraging - you guys are the bomb.


	6. Chapter 6

**To Lay A Dragon**

**All of the delectable characters belong to JK Rowling. **

**Chapter 6**

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Draco's fit of anger over Harry's attempt to keep up his reputation faded with the morning sun. He chuckled to himself a little remembering how furious he had been the evening before. He supposed it was a result of his having spent the evening at Azkaban and his resultant depression.

That brought to mind his promise to bring Snape chocolates and he decided to make a trip to Hogsmeade to purchase some. He fire called Blaise from his bedroom and cajoled his friend into accompanying him before Quidditch practice.

Hogsmeade was busy as usual and the two stood in a rather long line at a new confectioner's store that had opened in the village before arriving at the counter. The store sold imported candies from all over the world and Draco purchased a unique box of chocolate sweets from Denmark. The owner claimed they were one of a kind and would certainly endear Draco to the heart of whomever he chose to give them to.

Horrified, Draco asked the salesman if they were enchanted.

'No, no!' uttered the man hurriedly, 'I didn't mean to imply that. Merely that anyone tasting the high quality of these particular chocolates will be very thankful. You see, they are one of our one of a kind boxes.'

'Fine then,' Draco said, relieved, 'I'll take them.'

The chocolates were individually and quite elegantly wrapped and partitioned in a beautiful box, but the salesman sealed them in yet another lovely box before exchanging them with Draco for a good portion of his pocket money.

When the Slytherins left the store, Blaise turned to his friend, 'so who is the lucky recipient?'

'Actually they are for Snape,' he responded.

'Snape?' Blaise frowned, 'Snape hates chocolates.'

'I know, but he asked me for them when I visited him yesterday. Wanted them pretty bad I would say because…well he is not one to ask for favours.'

Blaise nodded, his brow still creased, 'odd,' he mused.

Draco chuckled, 'could be that he is planning to mix up an escape potion.'

Blaise rolled his eyes, 'not a chance. The Ministry conceded to the no torture bit for prisoners when Black was raising hell over it a while back, but that concession only came after they figured out a means to ensure the security on the place. No one, not even a wizard the likes of Dumbledore or…Harry could get out of the place.'

Draco shrugged, 'yeah, I have no idea what he wants with the chocolate. Perhaps he has developed a sweet tooth.'

'Snape?' Blaise's laughter rang loudly as they walked through the crowd.

Draco joined in his laughter. There was nothing sweet about Snape, teeth or otherwise.

'So you guys are off today?' Blaise asked.

'Yeah, double practice tomorrow; they are filling our pitch today.'

'Come on over and watch our practice then. We can head over to the Unicorn together afterward.'

'Alright,' Draco agreed. A small grin lit his features; he knew he would run into Potter at the practice. While his anger had faded, there was nothing in the world to stop him from teasing the lad a bit about his misplaced concern for his reputation.

The practice was a rather boring ordeal. The team was working on _flying_ which meant Draco got to watch the players whizzing by overhead again and again…and again in various formations. Drop, roll, spring! Zip, high, low, turn, zip! After twenty minutes he was bored out of his skull and found himself dozing off under the warm midday sun.

Draco was jerked awake sometime later by a loud buzzing sound about his ears. He sat up quickly and scowled as the laughing face of Potter arose above him, a snitch in hand.

Draco noticed that the rest of Harry's team was behind them in a huddle sorting through game equipment. Apparently Harry had already selected the snitch he planned to use throughout the week.

'Watch that the snitch doesn't catch you sleeping next weekend at our game,' Harry said laughing.

'The only thing I have to watch is you,' Draco remarked, 'closely. I really like my bollocks just as they are.'

Harry chuckled, 'I rather like them just as they are too,' he commented a little vulgarly.

Draco narrowed his eyes as the Gryffindor, 'you do, do you?'

Harry gave a quick incline of the head.

'I figured as much, seeing as you made that second little pre-dawn visit to my home for more.'

'Yeah,' Harry said, his grin wide, 'sorry 'bout that, I was a bit plastered.'

Draco shrugged.

'Although,' Harry countered, 'Blaise once mentioned to me that late night visits don't usually bother you.'

'Blaise doesn't speak for me and it depends on the nature of the visit.'

Harry laughed, 'yeah, well you know, I just wanted to have a drink.'

'Right. And there I was believing that you'd come by to enjoy a bit more disgusting experimentation.'

Harry's laughter faded to a chuckle, 'disgusting experimentation?'

'I believe that is your description of the evening we spent together.'

'Do you now? And why would that be?'

'Your mate Ron explained to me how you regard sex between… two men. I just found it a rather amusing description considering it was at complete odds with the wanton enjoyment you displayed that night we got together.'

'Ron?' Harry shook his head, 'you know, for a person who doesn't like others to speak for him, it is surprising you have no qualms about allowing others do so for me.'

Draco's grin displayed a sea of skepticism, 'he said you told him you considered it…disgusting. I understand why you would say that to him, to salvage your reputation and all, but I had believed you were above all that.'

'My reputation?'

'Holding up your damned beefcake image with the players. Really that shit is not all it's cracked up to be, Potter. Believe me, our mates may not refer to me as a stud any longer, but I don't have any problems finding a beauty for my bed if I want one.'

Harry shook his head a little, laughter still in his expression and tone, 'you think I give a shit about what the players think? About my reputation?'

'Apparently. Otherwise why would you lie to your best mate?' Draco cocked a brow, 'I know for certain you didn't find it disgusting.'

'No I didn't, and I didn't say that to Ron and…'

Harry leaned in quickly before the Slytherin could register what he was about and kissed him soundly on the lips. And he didn't pull away quickly; he left his lips pressed to the shocked mouth beneath him until it softened with acceptance. He eased his lips away slowly only to add two quick, little wet smacks before standing up again.

'My reputation be damned,' Harry said turning and walking away.

Draco noticed a number of people were looking at them, but his mind only registered that for a moment before his eyes flickered to Harry's retreating back.

'Potter,' he called out.

Harry stopped and slowly turned.

'You can come by tonight if you like,' Draco said carelessly loud.

Harry raised his head slightly in acknowledgement, 'we'll see. My godfather and Remus are here for a visit, but I may find time to slip away for a bit.' He smiled briefly before moving toward his mates who were staring at him appraisingly, having finally finished gathering their practice balls.

Draco watched Harry ignore the stares of his teammates and step over his broom. He took off smoothly into the air, releasing the snitch as he flew. It was only then that Draco realized he had completely gone back on his intention to not be with Harry again for a while.

Potter had unknowingly maneuvered him into inviting him over with that little kissing display. He shook his head wondering if the hero's life truly was charmed. Draco's decisions be damned…Potter always seemed to get what he wanted…unwittingly. Damned Gryffindor.

Draco began thinking that his reluctance to continue buggering Harry was a little ridiculous in any case. He would merely have to explain the limits. Harry likely had similar limits in mind anyway. He settled into the bench to watch the players undergo drills and tried to ignore the little ball of excitement that had begun welling up in his stomach. It was just Potter after all; just another shag.

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'So what's going on with you and Potter?' Blaise asked, his tone a bit overly curious.

Draco shrugged. They were walking to the Unicorn following the game. Blaise had been the first out of the changing rooms and he had immediately stalked up to Draco signaling he was ready to leave. Apparently he was eager to interrogate his friend about the conversation he'd heard earlier.

'So Potter is doing the two-step with you now?' Blaise pressed.

'We got together one night and we are considering it again, that's all.'

Blaise looked at Draco appraisingly then shook his head, 'Potter?'

Draco shrugged again.

'Never really thought he'd swing that way, he is as much into the ladies as I am.'

'Being into the ladies does not mean you can't have extracurricular fun at times. I am also into the ladies.'

'Right. Keep telling yourself that, my friend. But I haven't seen your mouth water over a babe in ages. You seem to salivate only when a strong set of biceps pass before your eyes.'

Draco grimaced, 'what does it matter, Blaise?'

'Doesn't. Just trying to set you right.'

'Ta for that.' Arsehole; the word left unstated but heavy in the air between them.

Blaise chuckled, 'no need to get your boxers in a bunch, mate.'

'My boxers are just fine and the last person on earth who could set me right – assuming I needed to be set at all – would be you.'

Blaise laughed again, 'just don't go falling in love with Potter. I shouldn't like to see you mooning around when he dumps you for the next beautiful bombshell that comes along.'

'Who said anything about falling in love? And Potter can't dump something he doesn't possess. He certainly doesn't possess me and he never will.'

'Right,' Blaise said, his expression filled with humor.

'What is that supposed to mean?'

'It means that I remember the last time you fell in love and that was a disaster.'

'Last time I…Blaise what are you on about?' Draco looked askance at his friend.

'Oh maybe you have forgotten your little infatuation for Hermione Granger after the war, but I remember it all too clearly; having to deal with you back then was hell.'

'Oh for the love of Merlin, Blaise. I was never infatuated with Granger.'

'No you weren't, I got that wrong. You were head over heels in love with her.'

Draco made a derogatory noise then cursed under his breath, 'I admit she and I got along pretty well back then, but I was hardly in love with her.'

'I seem to remember someone pacing in front of their fireplace half the day repeatedly asking: "why won't she return my fire calls?" Blaise smirked, 'now who was that? Oh yes! It was you, Draco.'

Draco sighed heavily, 'just because I wondered aloud why she didn't return my calls doesn't mean I was in love with her.'

'I suppose your buying her no less than six books in the space of two weeks was just a friendly gesture?'

'Shut it, Blaise,' Draco said sourly.

Blaise laughed, 'now you see,' he wagged a finger at Draco, 'that is the problem with you young men today. One hard rejection and you give up on the whole sex. It was right after Hermione began tailing after Viktor that you started up with Lucian.'

'Shut up, Blaise,' Draco said a bit more sternly.

'That is when you discovered that you had been in the wrong line at the market all along. Since your affair with Lucian, it has been obvious that you prefer men over women.'

Draco stopped walking and stared angrily at his friend, 'listen you smug, bastard, you can believe whatever you like. If you figure you have me all sussed out, great. Now drop it will you?'

Blaise saw the anger shining from Draco's eyes, but something else as well. A nice cloudy look of confusion. 'Certainly,' he responded lightly and slowly began walking once more.

Blaise hadn't considered that Draco may not have gotten it all worked in his own head yet. Poor lad, he thought, has no idea that he isn't bisexual at all, but gay as a tweed. Beneath his careless exterior, Blaise was truly fond of his friend and began to wonder exactly what would result from the latest little muddle Draco was stepping into with Potter. He recognized the signs; his friend was a little more into the hero than he was willing to admit …maybe even to himself.

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Harry spent a fun if somewhat crazy few moments with his houseguests after practice. He went straight home from the practice pitch and found them seated on his couch in the den.

Sirius was wild at the best of times, but Remus was generally a little more reserved…at least ninety-nine percent of the time. However, Remus was outdoing his godfather for audacity on this occasion, although not without reason.

Apparently a full moon was on the horizon.

Remus started right in with Harry when he arrived. 'So did you get another piece of Malfoy today?'

Harry laughed, 'uh, no.'

'Why not? From what I recall, he is pretty buff these days, a good looking lad.'

From what Harry recalled too. 'Be that as it may, I don't think marching up to him on the practice pitch and 'taking a piece' would be to his liking.'

Remus stood up and sat down again, moving closer to Sirius on the couch and hugging one of his boyfriend's legs with his hands. Sirius looked at Remus with mirth in his expression; he rather enjoyed the hypertensive actions and bold chatter his boyfriend displayed in the hours prior to the rise of a full moon.

'Well you don't have to march up and grab him on the pitch. You can be more subtle. Ask him into the changing rooms and then _attack him_.' Remus had placed a nice bit of emphasis on the last two words.

Harry laughed again, 'attack him?'

Remus shivered slightly as if the thought sent a thousand thrills through his body, 'yes, grip him by the shoulders and sink your mouth into his neck. Make him squirm with pleasure…leave your mark.'

Harry noted with amusement that the laughter had left Sirius' expression; he was regarding his boyfriend with rather hungry, canine eyes.

'Well, we were just together the one time,' Harry responded, chuckling a little, 'I don't believe he would be amused by my taking such liberties at this point.'

'Ummm, but you want to, don't you?' Remus asked.

'Do I wish to bite his neck? Not particularly.'

'Not bite it precisely…just feel the hot, smooth skin sliding between your teeth…'

Harry looked at his godfather sharply; he could have sworn he'd heard a soft growl. "Uh, maybe you two should have a nap before dinner,' he suggested.

'I am not the least bit tired,' Remus responded brightly, 'and it seems to me that you need a little advice. It's the first time you fucked a man isn't it, Harry?'

'First time he fucked a man, Remus?' Sirius asked looking at his boyfriend with his tongue caught between his teeth.

It was the tone Sirius used rather than the words that seemed to snap Remus back to himself a bit.

Remus flushed and looked at Harry, 'Merlin, I mean to say, you might wish to ask some questions or…get a little more knowledge on the ins and outs of the whole thing before you…' he closed his eyes and shook his head a little, 'Merlin.'

Sirius started laughing like the devil, 'I love when you get like this,' he said brokenly through his mirth, leaning in to kiss his love. 'But I think you may be shocking Harry.'

Remus threw him a quick frown and then glanced apologetically at Harry, 'I lose it a little at times…there is a full moon tonight.'

Harry began chuckling, 'I am far from shocked. I know the moon affects you Remus, don't worry it and you are right, I don't know much about it all. I hadn't really given it much thought. But frankly, it is kind of fun figuring it all out as I go along.'

'Yes,' Remus responded distractedly. Sirius had wound his fingers through his boyfriend's hair, gently stroking while moving so that Remus' head came to rest on his shoulder.

'The thing is Harry,' Sirius said, 'you are quite right. Most of it is second nature once you get going. Whatever makes you feel good is likely going to have the same effect on your partner.'

Harry bit his bottom lip for a moment watching Remus blink rather incessantly as he tried to remain sedately leaning against his godfather's arm. 'As I said before,' he mused, 'I am just trying out the experience; it isn't like I plan to carry on a long standing affair with Draco or any man. I was just curious…still am a bit.'

'No,' Remus said, leaning up to kiss Sirius' neck, 'you are more than curious.'

Harry frowned a little, 'what makes you say that?'

'Because when you talk about Draco you get fuck-eyes.'

Sirius burst out laughing again, hugging Remus a bit, 'he is just commenting on the suppressed excitement you seem to have for your new experience, Harry.' He turned to Remus, 'I think its time we go upstairs, we have to prepare for tonight.'

Remus put a hand to his forehead, a brief breathy laugh escaping him, 'yes, I think that might be a good idea.'

Sirius met his godson's eyes once more, 'it's probably best if we take an early dinner in our rooms tonight, Harry, we'll be leaving before nightfall, but we'll be back in the morning.'

Harry nodded understandingly, 'no problem, whatever you want to do.'

Sirius smiled, rising and pulling an unresisting Remus with him, 'we'll tack a couple of extra days stay on our visit to make up for it.' He winked at Harry as he and Remus left the room.

'I'd appreciate that,' Harry said sincerely, 'have a nice…rest,' he called, watching them leave.

'Thanks, we will,' Remus called from the hall.

Harry sat thinking about Remus' last comment. Fuck eyes? Remus might be a bit under the moon, but he was sane as anyone else and he might put things a little blatantly due to the lunar state, but he always meant them. In addition, he had always been very perceptive when it came to Harry.

His godfather had interpreted that to mean a suppressed excitement for the new experience…but he wondered if that was what Remus had really meant. Harry began to think about the strange obsession he seemed to have with Draco's hands. It could very well be that there was something more than a passing interest in a new experience going on here…it was quite possible that his lust and desire were being driven by one man in particular.

Harry shrugged a little; it was only natural, he thought; after all, Draco had been the first bloke, the only bloke, to bugger him. Why shouldn't he feel a little suppressed excitement…especially since he was still interested in pursuing the experience a bit more.

He smiled lightly thinking that tonight's full moon was a bit of luck for him. Draco had so welcomingly invited him over and his godfather and Remus would be going out; that had worked out rather fortuitously.

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The evening was cold and Harry shivered a little as he made his way out into the night. He apparated quickly, wishing to leave the cold wind as soon as possible. He walked quickly to Draco's front door and struck it with a few swift knocks.

To his surprise, Draco himself opened the door and stood looking at him through slightly hooded eyes. 'You got away.'

Harry nodded, 'full moon, Remus was…tired.'

'Ah,' Draco moved back into the house so Harry could enter.

The Slytherin closed the door and led them into the front room. 'Have a seat, you want a drink?'

'Sure,' Harry said noting that the room was rather chilly and fireplace was not lit. He moved toward it, pulling his wand to send a quick spell. The fireplace roared to life and heat from the flames immediately began gravitating into the room.

Harry looked to where Draco stood at a side bar pouring liquid into two rather glitzy glasses; apparently he had the room prepared.

Draco was staring at the fireplace and his eyes slid from it to meet Harry's, 'a little presumptuous aren't we?' he asked mildly.

'Sorry, I was freezing.'

Draco chuckled lightly, 'its fine.'

He walked to where Harry stood and handed him a drink then sat down on the couch. Harry sat next to him, although not terribly close, and took a sip of the nerve soothing alcohol, wondering vaguely why his nerves were on end. It wasn't like they didn't both know very well what was going to happen.

Draco was once again staring at him through hooded eyes, also a bit unnerving.

'You looked tired,' Harry remarked. No, not tired, thought Harry; more like a predator lying in wait, but…tired worked.

'I'm not at all fatigued,' Draco responded, 'not at all.'

The Slytherin carefully placed his drink on the coffee table and moved a little closer to Harry, sliding three fingers along his shoulder. He moved them slowly along the length of the bone and then inward over the Gryffindor's throat. He felt Harry swallow, a gulp, and watched while Harry sloshed his drink onto the table before them. He smiled inside; he'd wanted to see that again; evoking agitation from the normally composed hero gave him a good deal of pleasure.

Draco ran his fingers against the skin, so soft, and upward along the supple expanse of neck. His fingers trailed lightly over the firm chin and fell against the moist lips. Harry's eyes had darted downward and were following their every movement, his bated breath showering his fingers with quick, puffs of heat.

He couldn't resist, Harry captured one of the beautiful fingers - never far from his consciousness for days now - into his mouth and began sucking. His eyes snapped shut and his body fell slightly forward as his lips closed around the long, elegant finger. Little gasping sounds escaped his throat and he was certain he looked insane, but he found he didn't care; he brought his own hand up to cover Draco's, massaging it gently as he continued to suck on the finger captured by his mouth.

It was a little mesmerizing to Draco; he'd noticed Harry's seeming preoccupation with his hands. He'd never been with anyone so enraptured by them before. Harry looked as if he might drive himself right over the brink, soaking up the scent, taste and feel of his finger. Draco brought his free hand to Harry's cheek and stroked it softly, a little in wonder, but not terribly surprised at the strong reaction his action rendered.

Harry gasped heavily and turned his face into the hand covering his cheek. He began reining it with hot, wet kisses and small tender bites and seemed to be drowning in an odd type of ecstasy.

It was as if it was an aphrodisiac and Draco found himself tremendously turned on by the sight of the Gryffindor having his way with his hand. He lifted his newly freed hand and twisted his fingers through Harry's locks, pulling his head forward a little harshly and then abruptly pulling his other hand away so he could capture the now slightly swollen lips in a hungry, heated kiss.

Harry's arms moved reflexively to grip the Slytherin's body; pulling him closer than he already was, until their chests were pressed as tightly together as their lips. His heart was pumping madly and blood rushed downward, filling him; the pressure suddenly tight and hard against his jeans. He could feel the hard puffs of air he sent flowing down Draco's throat as he kissed him, his tongue dancing wildly in the searing mouth. So damned lovely; so damned hot.

Draco had incited the fiery kiss, but Harry had taken it up several notches and the Slytherin found himself hotter than he'd been the first time they were together. The woodsy scent filled his nostrils and fingers were running along his vertebrae, leaving little trails of flame in their wake.

He heard himself groaning, although he hadn't made up his mind to do so. Harry was not only drawing him into the experience, he was carrying him to new place altogether. He was startled by the strong, sensual pleasure the Gryffindor was summoning from his soul.

Draco allowed his hand to fall from Harry's tousled locks and join the other to caress both cheeks, slightly rough from daytime growth, but nothing had ever felt so very brilliant to his sensitive fingers.

Harry kept deepening the kiss and Draco kept letting him until he was left nearly breathless. Draco edged his mouth away and captured the Gryffindor's lower lip between the even cut of his teeth, pulling it through and capturing it again, adoring the pretty, pleading gasps his action evoked.

He could get used to this; it was so dark, so dangerous, so delicious. Everything Draco wanted and everything he wanted to avoid like the plague. One being so totally in control of his senses now; the fragrance of mountain wind, bark and cut grass suffocating him and there was a flicker of a memory accompanying that woodsy smell. The memory of another scent that was all Harry, damp and sweating, salty and bitter, that was what he wanted…needed to smell…

Draco eased himself out of Harry's arms, not without some difficulty, and stood up bringing the Gryffindor with him. 'Come with me?' whispered.

Harry nodded, flushed and his body aching from the desire boiling inside. He followed Draco with sluggish, if eager steps, up the stairs and to the rear of a long hallway. The Slytherin pulled open a set of double doors and Harry walked into…magnificence.

The bed far grander than anything he'd ever seen, but it could have been a fold-away cot for all he cared, he just wanted Draco on it, naked, now.

Draco set his wand on the nightstand and then turned back to face Harry, desire pouring from his eyes.

Harry didn't give the Slytherin a chance for more invitations, he reached out and began pulling at the buttons of Draco's shirt with trembling fingers then fumbling with the belt until Draco knocked his hand away and did it himself, pulling off his jeans while Harry moved clumsy hands to his own clothing.

Harry's fingers tangled in his shirt in his haste to undo the buttons; he hissed a rush of words in frustration and they flew apart and his jeans were left unconstrained as well. He rarely used his wandless talent, but when he did, he found that it seemed to flourish in direct proportion with his adrenaline level. He flung the clothes off quickly, his intense emerald eyes never wavering from the naked, muscular form before him.

He rushed at Draco, clamping his mouth to the Slytherin's while moving them toward the bed. Draco didn't resist when he was eased onto the mattress and covered by a blanket of hot skin and a wet mouth sucking at his throat.

Draco could already smell the scent he was after and he struggled against Harry's body, manhandling him until the Gryffindor was beneath him and immediately began a wet descent with his tongue along the scorching skin.

Harry was noisily whimpering as Draco's mouth traced a path from his neck to his belly and continued to descend. His hands jerked out to clutch the Slytherin's head when Draco captured his hardness with his mouth. It was nothing like the last time; it was wilder, madder and altogether brilliant. Harry sifted shaking fingers through soft hair and a glance at the lips, reddened and stretched, moving in a way that was definitively wonderful, left him feverish.

'God,' Harry gasped, as his hips began gently rocking of their own accord.

One of Draco's hands slipped downward and began toying and teasing, sending a flame of heat along Harry's spine. He arched upward, his body tense; 'Draco,' the name, a deep moan erupting into the air moments before Harry released into the blissful heat surrounding his hardness.

Draco adeptly heeded the call, Harry's excitement inciting his own. When the Gryffindor was sated he pulled himself off and began licking Harry's belly and all the war hero could do was lay there panting and let him, his body atremble and damp with sweat.

The scents all mixed together and so alluring; Draco was entranced. He licked his way up to Harry's mouth and attacked; a bruising kiss that tasted of Harry, so, so delicious. Hot breath filled the cavern of his mouth and he felt the Gryffindor's hands sliding upward along his back, pressing the muscles and sending his ardor zipping upward at a ridiculous rate.

'I want you, now,' Draco gasped hoarsely, his words spilling against Harry's lips which were then delicately assaulted by nipping teeth.

Harry lifted his knees in response and that was enough for Draco to go on. Reaching out to the nightstand, he lightly touched his wand while soft, whispered words fell from his mouth.

Harry felt a rush of slickness move within him and then gasped loudly as Draco drove his hardness into him. No fingers this time, just a hot burning sensation inside that quickly turned into something much more pleasing, something close to divine. Harry was amazed to find his passion stirring once again; the Slytherin was braced above him, moving with none of the gentle, tenderness he had displayed the last time.

This was driving, merciless and altogether engendering the most incredible feelings Harry had ever been party to in his life. He gripped Draco's arm, with one hand and his burgeoning hardness with the other, his head sinking heavily into the mattress as Draco practiced new and wonderful magic above him.

'Harry, dammit, Harry,' Draco groaned. His face contorted as he swept Harry's legs upward with his arms and fell forward, driving even more rapidly now and adjusting his angle in such a way that Harry was left chasing his breath.

Hard again now, his whole body throbbing as it jerked repeatedly upward, begging for the zenith of relief. 'Please, yes…please,' Harry whispered.

It was too much; the sight of Draco moving above him, the repeated pulsing of pleasure inside and that generated by his own hand sent Harry's body reeling once again toward climax.

'God, oh god,' Harry cried on a raspy howl, his head rearing back as his seed spurted wildly between them.

Watching the ecstasy move across Harry's features and hearing the hollow tone of his cry, Draco found himself on the precarious brink of a grand explosion. His slammed his face into the crevice of Harry's neck, breathing in the Gryffindor's essence. Strong hands were caressing his back, his buttocks…Harry's warm breath on his cheek.

Ragged, broken moans began escaping the Slytherin, quivering against the soft skin of Harry's neck and then into his mouth, captured in the moment orgasm crashed through Draco's senses.

Harry felt the warm rush filling his body and arched to meet the Slytherin's final jagged thrusts. Draco collapsed against Harry, his steamy body a dead weight and his heavy breathing the only sound breaking the solitude of their post-coital bliss.

Neither moved for the longest time and Harry winced a little when the Slytherin finally edged his body away. Draco fell heavily next to the Gryffindor on the bed, a little surprised when Harry moved at once to place an arm across his belly and rest his head comfortably on his chest. One of his legs fell between Draco's in the process.

Draco felt his normal urge to pull away; clinging to a lover after sex romanticized it in a way that was against everything he wanted for himself right now. Freedom. But Harry felt warm and…comfortable; their bodies rested together easily, almost naturally and there was really nothing very clingy about it.

Draco resisted the urge to flee and allowed himself to settle into the comfort; he lifted a hand and laced his fingers through Harry's hair, playing with the locks. The sex had been good, he thought. Too damned good. Harry had driven him with skillful touches and clever lips, completely reeling him in. He was supposed to be the experienced guide here, but he'd never felt so little control. Fuck.

'That was brilliant,' Harry whispered hoarsely, hotly, into his skin.

Draco tightened his hand against Harry's locks for a moment in acknowledgement. It had been brilliant. Rumor had it that Harry was incredible in the sack, but Draco had ignored the gossip, figuring people were making the hero bigger than life as they usually did. But if tonight was anything to go on, those rumors had merit, in fact, they hadn't even begun to extol the virtues of Harry's sensual ability.

In a way it rankled him a little; Draco was excellent in the sack and he knew it. His innate arrogance had mellowed over the years, so it wasn't about building up his ego, but when you are good at something, you'd like to have it recognized. Harry got that by virtue of being who he was; it seemed everyone was always eager to tell him how proficient he was at everything.

'You are a damned good lover, Draco,' Harry said, planting a light kiss on Draco's chest before allowing his head to sink comfortably against him once more.

And Harry knew exactly what to say too. Double Fuck.

'We both are,' Draco replied after a few moments. It wasn't an especially pretty response, but it was the best he could muster at the moment…considering.

Draco's musings dimmed as he began drifting to sleep, but just before he slipped over the edge into a state of natural unconsciousness, Harry's last statement flittered through his mind and a cold chill raced up his spine, jerking him completely awake once more.

A good lover he had said…maybe so, but that did not make them lovers. He hoped Harry understood that. They were…they were fuckbuddies. His eyes slipped down to regard the now sleeping Gryffindor; he looked serene and content, his long lashes resting lightly against his cheeks.

Draco sighed a little and relaxed once more. Harry was probably thinking along the same lines as he was and had merely used the term lover in the strictest sense. He was being paranoid; Lovers, fuckbuddies…all interchangeable terms really. His mind once again placated, he finally allowed himself to fall asleep.

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The morning sun was kissing Draco's cheeks through the thin, chintz curtains when he awoke. But that is not what had pulled him from his rather pleasant slumber. Someone, Harry, was planting kisses along his chest…and his belly and his…'Oh god.'


	7. Chapter 7

**To Lay A Dragon**

**All of the delectable characters belong to JK Rowling. **

**Chapter 7**

**A/N**: Hi everyone, The Mystery begins so **Pay Attention**! I hope you have been doing so. The characters and brief information about every character introduced is important to the plot. When the plot begins to unfold in the next chapter, those who have paid attention may just solve the mystery prior to its revelation. Ah you didn't realize there was a mystery to be solved! Well Fan fic doesn't allow us to put 3 categories and it is foremost Romance and Humor so I selected those. But you have the fun of a little mystery to solve along the way.

A warm thanks to those of you who reviewed, I really appreciated them.

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Severus Snape had spent the five years of his prison sentence in relative seclusion from the other prisoners. Reforms to Azkaban included the creation of a large general hall where the prisoners were allowed to freely intermingle with other inmates during an eight hour period each day. One need only request an escort to the room by an Auror. The room had various magical games and an exercise area for the inmates to use as well as numerous rather hard couches for them to sit upon.

It was a vast improvement in conditions, but as Sirius had argued while the reforms were being implemented, while the changes might make one's stay more pleasant, they would also serve the purpose of providing social interaction. This would serve to assist the prisoners upon their release, facilitating readjustment to society. And it wasn't as if being locked away from the world for a number of years without one's wand could be described as enjoyable even under the most pleasant circumstances.

Snape had gone to the hall on the first day of his incarceration. Unfortunately, the only two people that hadn't looked at him with disgust when he walked in were Crabbe and Goyle. The thought of spending even one minute in their company was abhorrent to the ex-professor and he had ignored their greeting and left, never to return.

Connected to the hall was a huge library and inmates were allowed to carry books back to their cells for reading. Snape spent most of his time reading and writing at the small desk provided in his cell. The books had been carefully selected, appropriate for prisoners, but to his surprise he found many of them quite interesting.

For four years his monthly visits from Draco and the Aurors that came by to bring food or lead him to the showers were his only contacts with humanity. However, at the beginning of his fifth year of incarceration that had changed.

Snape remembered the day very clearly. An Auror had called him from his cell and led him to the visiting rooms. Draco had visited just two weeks before and Snape was a little mystified as to why the lad would return so soon. However, when the door was opened and he stepped inside he froze. It was not Draco, but rather one of the last persons he'd ever expect to see.

Granted, he expected to see no one, but to say he was shocked would be to put it lightly. Since then he'd had two regular visitors; Draco once a month and his new visitor who came with increasing frequency and presently nearly every other day.

Visits were not limited; however, it was rare to find a visitor who came on more than a weekly basis. This particular visitor certainly held the record for the number of visits to a single prisoner. Snape would never admit that he enjoyed the visits of his frequent guest, but some of his writings hinted otherwise.

When the Auror Guard called for Snape, two days following Draco's visit, he knew it must be his frequent visitor. He made no special ministrations to his appearance; his visitor seemed to like him just as he was. He merely arose and followed the guard to the visiting rooms.

'The boy is back,' the Auror murmured to Snape on their way to the room.

Snape glowered at the Auror's back and his demeanor sagged a little, but he continued into the room.

'Good Morning Professor,' Draco said when Snape plodded into the room with drudging steps.

Snape didn't sit down nor did he respond; his eyes had fallen upon the package Draco had brought with him.

Draco followed his eyes and lifted the box of chocolates toward Snape. The outer wrapping had been torn away by the Aurors during testing, but the lovely box they were in as well as the delicate wrapping containing each chocolate were still in place.

The candies were badly folded however; each piece had been unwrapped, tested and then refolded into its paper before being replaced. The Aurors hadn't taken much care, so the paper coverings were not nicely twisted as they had been, but they still looked quite nice.

Snape snatched the box from Draco and gave him a curt nod.

Draco supposed that meant 'thank you very much, I appreciate your taking the time to get these fine chocolates for me' though Snape said not a word. Upon reflection he realized it more likely meant, 'give me the chocolates and get the hell out', but he didn't press the issue.

Draco smiled at the ex-professor and watched as Snape scowled in response before turning and leaving the room.

Draco sighed. He really hadn't expected anything else, but really, he had taken the time to get the damn chocolates, the least he man could have done was verbally acknowledge what he'd done for him. He arose and called for the Auror to see him out. The familiar feeling of depression was beginning to crawl over him, but it was nothing that couldn't be fixed by an invigorating Quidditch practice followed by few stiff drinks.

Snape went back to his cell and had no more than set the chocolates on his desk when an Auror was once again calling for him indicating that he had another visitor, Snape knew for certain who it was. This time there could be no mistake; it was his frequent visitor. He looked at the chocolates, noting their disheveled appearance and with a snort he turned and quickly followed the Auror.

Snape's face was set in a permanent scowl, but the sneer of his lip that generally accompanied it lessened as the door to a visiting room was opened and the Auror stepped aside for him to enter.

Snape walked into the room with what anyone seeing him might have called eager steps, but then came to a sudden halt when his eyes fell on the room's occupant. It was not his regular visitor at all. The sneer returned to Snape's face, eight fold; loathing and rage eked from every pour of his being and his eyes were reduced to two thin slits of hatred.

'Snivelus,' Sirius Black said jovially, his smile wide and his eyes sparkling with mockery.

Snape opened his mouth, closed it again into a thin line then turned without a word and quickly and left the room, slamming the door behind him.

Sirius broke out in gales of laughter and it was a few moments before he could calm his mirth enough to rise and call for the Auror.

Sirius had been aching to do that for years and even though it had been even more sporting than he'd imagined, he wouldn't do it again. Only because looking at Snape filled him with revulsion. Oh how he hated that man and it rather delighted him to see his longstanding enemy locked up for his sins. The man deserved it!

Sirius' own incarceration in the past had been much worse – and he'd been innocent! He wondered if Snivelus realized that it had been Sirius who was principally responsible for making his stay so much nicer.

He hoped not.

The Auror led Sirius to another room where he joined Remus who was already in deep conversation with Peter Pettigrew's mother. She had been charged with assisting the death eaters by attempting to hide Peter for several days near the end of the war.

It was quite untrue, the woman hadn't even known her son was in her house; he had been in his animagus rat form nearly the entire time. It was Peter himself who had implicated his mother, albeit somewhat unwittingly. He had been spotted by Aurors on one of the few occasions he had transformed into a human to take food from the kitchen and eat it in the yard. The Aurors that found him had given chase, killing him in self defense and then arresting his mother under the assumption that she had been in complicity with him.

Both Remus and Sirius who had spent time in Peter's home as youngsters and had gotten to know Mrs. Pettigrew quite well and had become quite fond of her at that time. They believed her tale, knowing how deceitful their old friend, Peter had become in the end and had attempted to vouch for her, but to no avail. She was given a six year sentence and they made it a habit to visit her and bring her small gifts whenever they were in London.

Remus knew that Sirius had made a short visit to Snape; he'd tried to dissuade him from doing so, but he had to admit to himself that he hadn't tried all that hard. Remus had little liking for Snape, but it was not in his nature to taunt a man when he was down. Nonetheless, he knew the feud between Sirius and Severus went much deeper than any he had with the ex-professor. Severus and Sirius' hatred for one another was built on years of bad blood between them and at varying times in the past, both had had the upper hand.

Remus recalled how horribly Severus had treated Sirius when he'd escaped Azkaban and there was a part of him that was rather happy that Sirius had finally made up for it today – childish as the whole situation and his feelings were. He was certain from the flushed excitement on his love's face that he had been successful in causing Snape some level of humiliation. He gave his boyfriend a knowing glance when he arrived before turning back to Mrs. Pettigrew.

Severus Snape returned to his cell and sat at his desk. He began writing what would become a long, nasty treatise on Sirius Black, full of venom and profanities. He carefully went through each and everyone of Black's bad characteristics; in short, all of his characteristics. His hatred of the man knew no bounds; equaling Sirius' hatred for him. It had been one of the saddest days in Snape's life when he'd heard that the man had somehow cheated death and returned from his fall through the veil.

He'd hadn't actually seen Sirius in over seven years, but not seeing him for the rest of his life would have been far better as far as he was concerned. It irked him that Sirius no longer had the maniacal, sunken, one-step-from-death look he'd had the last time he'd set eyes on him, that was shortly after Black's release from Azkaban. Sirius' body had filled out again, his face had regained much of its youth and the wide smile had revealed sparkling white teeth – a large improvement over the yellowed and corroded molars he'd sported when last he'd seen him.

It made him begin drawing on memories from their days in Hogwarts together; Black had been oh so good looking then as well – on the outside. But it was just a façade for the offensive, vile, and foul nature that Sirius harbored on the inside as far as Snape was concerned. That went for his idiotic friends James Potter, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew as well (if he had stopped to think about it, he would have realized that Black would likely agree with his thoughts on Peter – but Snape's mind was lost in the past.)

Four against one. His treatise broadened in topic to include all four Marauders.

He knew exactly how jubilant Black had been sitting on the 'free' side of the visitor's room and watching Snape enter to find him. He'd heard the laughter as he left and the only thing that kept him from lashing out with rage was the thought that Black had undergone much worse when his Arse had sat in Azkaban for twelve years with the Dementors tormenting him.

The thought helped. A little. His furious writing helped a lot more.

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It had been two days since Harry had spent the evening at Draco's house; something he recalled frequently and with growing feelings of lust. He was a little in wonder at just how much more he enjoyed relations with men in comparison with women.

He'd not decided to dump women from his life, or his bed altogether just yet, but he did find that his mind was quite singularly concentrated on the male physique over the last two days. Specifically the Slytherin's physique, but as that was the only one he'd known so intimately, it was not surprising to him.

Replay of the evening in his mind was enough to bring him to a full blown arousal and as embarrassing as that might be in certain situations, he couldn't seem to stop himself from thinking about it. Both in the practice changing room and at home with his guests, he'd found himself abruptly leaving the company of the others to either will his erection away or relieve himself.

Lust is a terrible thing at times.

Harry hadn't seen Draco since; he'd had practice in the day and then immediately returned home to spend time with Sirius and Remus. His guests had gone out both days while Harry was at practice, but were always there to greet him when he arrived home.

Thus Harry had been unable to go the Unicorn as usual or spend time with his friends. He didn't mind at all; his godfather and Remus only came to town about twice a year and he missed them horribly in between. But that fact didn't stop his mind from wandering quite irrationally off topic from time to time.

His constant memories of one of the best sexual encounters of his life had left him with a desire to see Draco in the flesh once more. He was quite certain that he had become somewhat infatuated with the Slytherin due to what they had happened between them. He was also quite certain that was why he couldn't seem to get Draco and his body parts off of his mind.

Harry had been with many young women and a couple of times he'd been with the same woman more than once. Those couple had been more enjoyable than the rest and he'd had the same lingering feelings about them as he had now for Draco. It drove him to repeat sex with the girls in the past and it was driving him to do the same with the Slytherin. He was certain that like with the girls, his infatuation would eventually wear off and he'd move on.

But his moving on would definitely include men this time around. His new found passion for a masculine body ran far too deep to ever give it up. At present, he found himself less interested in the female body than he had at any time in the past. That didn't bother him so much; after all, one was always more fascinated with the new than the old.

Sirius and Remus hadn't bought up the topic of Draco again and yet Harry almost wished they would. There was a strange desire within him to talk about the Slytherin, a natural part of the infatuation he supposed.

On the second evening, Harry went out for about two hours while his guests took a 'nap'. He was glad they were not about to ask where he was going because he couldn't say and he really did not wish to be evasive with them.

When he returned home from his little excursion, he was gratified to find them still – napping – and they didn't come down for another half an hour. They never knew he'd left. Harry invited Ron over and the four of them spent the evening eating and then talking together in the den.

Harry enjoyed the conversation, but the entire time his mind kept seeking ways to unobtrusively bring Draco into the conversation. The nagging need to speak about him continued to pester him, just as it had when he'd met especially nice young women in the past. He couldn't do so without it seeming out of place however, so he didn't.

By evening's end, Harry found that his pent up thoughts about Draco had left him in an excitable state. When Ron left and his guests retired, he decided that despite the time, he would go out. It was nearly midnight and he had practice the next morning, but he knew he'd never get to sleep with all of the churning and turning of thought going on in his head.

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Draco had gone bar hopping alone after Quidditch practice. His depression began lifting after the first two stops, but his mind had begun to wander to the topic of one Harry Potter and that spurred on his continued desire to drink.

He moved to a third bar, and then a fourth, having a beer or two at each and it was well into the evening by the time he picked himself up and trundled to a fifth. He held his liquor better than most, but he was already a little fried by the time he reached the Mutton on Hand, a small non-descript little bar in the center of London that few frequented.

Draco pushed the gate-like swinging doors of the bar inward and slipped inside. He stopped a moment as his eyes adjusted to the dim lighting and was about to move toward the bar when two people sitting at a side table caught his attention.

He stood immobilized, staring at Harry and Ginny talking in an intimate fashion over a couple of drinks. Hadn't Harry told him he was 'all over that' when it came to Ginny? Yet the two of them seemed to be thick as thieves at the moment. Ginny was talking, her eyes caressing her drink and her fingers tapping the tall glass. Harry was looking at her intently, with what could only be called a caring expression.

Draco turned on his heel and quickly exited the bar. He stood a moment outside and wondered why seeing the couple together seemed to bother him. Then he grudgingly admitted to himself that the sight had more than bothered him…it left him feeling inexplicably pissed off.

By the time Draco finished his second beer at the next bar he entered, he'd convinced himself that there was no reason why Harry and Ginny shouldn't be talking together in a bar. Harry was very close to all of the Weasels and likely met with them all from time to time.

At night, in a little frequented hovel like the Mutton on Hand, in an obscure part of the city.

He carried himself off to the Unicorn for a little further convincing.

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When Harry entered the Unicorn he didn't expect that any of the players would be present. The bar itself was open 24 hours a day, year round, but after midnight on the week nights, there were generally only a few hard core drunk wizards about.

Thus when his eyes fell upon Draco, tucked away alone at one of the side tables, his heart skipped a beat…or two. He walked a little more rapidly than was casual toward the table where the Slytherin sat nursing a beer and sat down across from him.

Draco looked up slowly and he frowned slightly when he spotted Harry's rather exuberant face before him. Draco was bombed. He'd been drinking since he'd returned from Azkaban, first with the players and then with just Blaise and finally alone. Blaise had tried to get him to leave, but he had refused vehemently, pissing Blaise off in the process. His best friend had stormed out, sending him to the devil in the process.

Harry realized at once that Draco had drunken himself into a stupor. The red-tinged eyes, slackened cheeks and slow movements were a nice clue.

'Been drinking a bit, eh?' Harry commented.

'You…suck,' Draco managed.

'Do you mean that figuratively or literally?' Harry asked, chuckling a little.

Draco grinned at his glass, 'that moronic, demon Blaise sent you didn't he?' Draco slurred. The words had been nearly indiscernible.

'As a matter of fact he did not.'

Draco looked up again slowly, pursing his lips, 'twizlethith…' he murmured just before his head slumped onto the table, his drink spilling in the process and forming a nice puddle about his face.

Harry moved immediately to Draco's side and lifted the lad's face from the table. It was dripping with beer and Harry quickly drew his wand and cast a drying spell. He hoisted Draco up from the his seat and pulled him into a supportive embrace before lifting his wand again and apparating.

Harry heard the barkeeper yelling as they disappeared, 'Hey! No apparating from the-' but the voice petered out and soon they were standing in front of Draco's home. Well, Harry was standing; Draco was sort of slumping, his entire weight supported by the Gryffindor.

Harry waved his wand at the door causing a rapping to sound upon it and shortly a little elf pulled the door open.

The elf frowned, 'wat's toward here?' he demanded, looking worriedly at his employer slumped in Harry's arms.

'He's passed out from drink is all,' Harry responded while moving into the house, 'I am going to get him to bed.'

The elf closed the door and then moved to help carry Draco upstairs.

'Well this is shameful,' the elf complained, 'he's never arrived in such shoddy shape before!' he looked at Harry with accusation in his eyes.

'I found him at the bar like this,' Harry said a little defensively.

The elf said nothing more and they managed to get Draco into his room and settle him onto the bed.

'I'll just go fix up a reviving potion,' the elf said, not waiting for Harry to respond, but scurrying quickly away.

Harry began loosening Draco's clothing and then stripping it away down to his boxers. When the elf returned, he assisted in holding Draco's mouth open so the elf could pour the liquid in and then Harry used his wand to work the lad's throat muscles. He laid Draco gently onto the pillow when it appeared he had downed the potion.

'There now,' remarked the elf, swinging the large potion bottle in his hand, 'he'll be right as rain before you can nab a mermaid from the lake.'

Harry frowned a little at the elf; nabbing a mermaid could take days…he imagined it must simply be a saying among the elves. It appeared that was so, Draco was already moving his head about the pillow and his eyelids began to flicker.

Suddenly Draco began coughing rather wildly and Harry lifted him to a sitting position.

'Um, a mite too much Gableroot,' mused the elf.

Draco's coughing died down, but the activity seemed to bring him back into the realm of the living. He frowned heavily at the elf then at Harry.

'What the hell is going on?' he demanded.

'Oye, and a bit too much of the Setooth Elixir as well, can right wipe out a memory if-'

Draco's roar cut the elf off, 'Minigini, shut up!' he cried at the elf and then he turned angry eyes toward Harry, 'what has happened?'

'You blacked out at the Unicorn, a bit too much to drink I presume,' Harry said rather nonchalantly.

Draco looked at him a moment before sighing and falling back onto his pillow. The anger had faded from his face and he threw a hand to his brow and began rubbing his temples.

'I can mix ye up a bit of Dagwood Elixir, that should get the old memory jogging again!' the elf declared, his tone joyous.

'My memory is perfectly sound, Minigini, please just get out.'

The elf's buoyancy died and his brow creased downward, 'that's all the thanks Minigini gets for draggin' ye back from the brink o' death? Spiteful little-'

'Just go, Minigini,' Draco's voice sounded tired.

Minigini stood fuming for a moment before turning to storm from the room. The little elf could be heard muttering something about ungrateful jackanapes as he departed.

Harry chuckled a little, 'well saving you from death was a bit of an exaggeration, but he did likely save you from a grand hangover in the morning.'

Draco sighed again, 'I suppose he did. I'll have to thank him for that later. However, I really had no desire to be brought out of my stupor tonight.'

Harry frowned a little, 'not doing so good then?' he asked.

'Just a shitty day,' Draco replied.

'Well we all have those.'

'Undoubtedly.' Draco looked at Harry a little musingly then, 'what were you doing at the bar, I don't recall you being there earlier.'

Harry shrugged, 'couldn't sleep. It's a good thing I couldn't considering the state I found you in when I arrived.'

Draco grinned slightly and narrowed his eyes, 'maybe so, but as I said, I was quite content.'

'Well I could hardly leave you there to contently drown in your liquor. You knocked your beer over when your head hit the table and then _contentedly_ began breathing it up.'

Draco laughed, 'did I?'

Harry nodded chuckling a little as well.

'Well ta for the rescue.'

'Welcome,' Harry continued to chuckle, 'anything else I can do for you?'

Draco lifted his eyes and met Harry's green orbs with a rather unfathomable look. 'Not really,' Draco said finally.

Harry's trademark smile appeared and he leaned over and kissed Draco briefly, then pulled away again, his face scrunched up with disgust.

'You taste of potion,' he murmured, wiping his lips with the back of his hand.

Draco laughed a little, 'that's what you get for taking liberties.'

Harry's smile returned, 'well if you are alright now, I'll head back to the pit.'

Harry began to rise, but Draco's lust had begun bubbling up when Harry had kissed him. The kiss had also reinforced some of the thoughts he'd been trying to convince himself of earlier. He refused to allow himself to consider why he'd been trying to convince himself of anything where Harry, his fuckbuddy, was concerned.

Draco reached out and caught the Gryffindor's arm, 'stay?'

Harry's expression moved from mirth to something else and his eyes began to twinkle, 'well perhaps for a bit, but I have to return home early.'

Draco nodded and began looking about him.

'What?' Harry asked, noting Draco seemed to be searching for something.

'My wand.'

'Ah,' Harry reached down and found Draco's pants; he pulled the wooden stick from the weapons pocket and handed it over.

Draco aimed the wand at himself and sent a silent incantation.

Harry lifted his brows.

Draco shrugged, 'just a simple breathalyzer spell. Come, tell me what you think of this flavor.'

Harry chuckled again as he leaned slowly forward.

* * *

Please review, I'd love to hear your impression of the story so far. Thanks. 


	8. Chapter 8

**To Lay A Dragon**

**All of the delectable characters belong to JK Rowling. **

**Chapter 8**

**A/N: The Mystery Begins…**

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'Good morning Professor.'

Snape cringed at the chorus of voices at his back. His quill froze for a moment against the scroll he'd been writing on, leaving an unsightly blotch on the page. It was Crabbe and Goyle stopping to greet him as they passed his cell on the way to the prisoner's general hall. He ignored them as he did daily and went back to writing.

To his dismay, they didn't seem to be moving along today.

'Is that chocolate you have there in the box?' Goyle asked a moment later.

Snape continued to ignore them, concentrating on his writing.

'It looks fancy. Could we have a piece?' Crabbe implored.

'No.' Snape's tone was firm and final.

'Please sir, it looks like it is very good chocolate, better than what we have.' Goyle's voice was reduced to a thin whine.

'No! Now go away.'

The Auror escorting Crabbe and Goyle sighed and impatiently began tapping his foot. He had been utterly dismayed when he found out that he was in charge of the pair of goons for the day in addition to his other charges.

Crabbe and Goyle stood conferring with one another for a moment before the two turned and began walking back toward Goyle's cell. The Auror followed his irritation mounting.

Goyle ran into his cell and grabbed two pieces of chocolate from the box Draco had given him and then ran back out, smiling slyly at Crabbe. The two then ran back in the direction of Snape's cell, the Auror behind them.

'We'll trade you two pieces of our chocolate for one of yours, professor! How about that?' Crabbe sputtered breathlessly; he didn't run often.

Snape rounded on the lads from his seat and then stood up and approached the bars. His visage was terrible; he had the same look he'd worn when they were all at Hogwarts and someone had blown up a cauldron in his potions class.

Crabbe and Goyle flinched a little.

'I TOLD YOU,' Snape said loudly and nastily, 'I WILL NOT GIVE YOU ANY OF MY CHOCOLATE. I DO NOT WANT YOUR-' Snape paused to look with utter distaste on the rather demolished pieces of chocolate Goyle held in his hand, 'PUTRID CHOCOLATE. NOW LEAVE!'

'What's going on here?' Another Auror, newly arrived, moved toward the cell.

'These two up to their usual antics,' remarked the Auror overseeing Crabbe and Goyle.

The newly arrived Auror rolled his eyes. 'You two go on to the hall if that is where you are headed, Snape has a visitor. He pulled Snape's cell door open.

'If it is Black I have no intention of seeing that-'

'Come along, Snape, it is your regular visitor,' the Auror cut in.

'But-' Goyle began; however, he cut himself off and turned quickly when a loud scream reverberated off the stone walls of the prison hallway.

Everyone looked at the door that led to the cell passage, the scream had emanated from the other side. Moments later the Aurors overseeing Crabbe, Goyle and Snape began running toward the door. There were several other prisoners in the passage way at the time and their accompanying Aurors followed suit.

Snape frowned and moved quickly behind the Aurors, craning his neck to see what was happening as they pulled open the door to the cell passageway.

Crabbe and Goyle did not follow the professor however. Their minds were rather shallow; they had only one goal at the moment and that was to get a piece of Snape's delectable looking chocolate.

The lads quickly moved into Snape's unattended cell and pulled two of his chocolates from the box, unwrapped them and plopped the candies directly into their mouths. They giggled a little as the delicious flavor of the chocolate spread over their taste buds and as one turned to head back out of the cell.

'Wait,' Crabbe said, stopping suddenly, 'let's wrap up your chocolates in that paper and put them back in the box. Snape will never know!'

Goyle nodded and quickly picked up the papers they had tossed to the ground. They wrapped the chocolate up quickly and twisted the ends; tossing them into the box in the empty spaces and then turning once more to leave. The two moved quickly, knocking down an older woman prisoner moving along the passage as they exited the cell door, jostling her badly.

'Oh,' cried the old woman, trying to regain her balance.

'Sorry,' Crabbe and Goyle said together.

The woman re-gained her balance and stared at the boys angrily, 'you boys should be more careful.'

Crabbe and Goyle both wanted to get as far away from Snape's cell as possible and rushed away, barely hearing the woman. 'Sorry,' they called again over their shoulders as they departed.

Snape had followed the Aurors through the door to the passageway and stood watching a woman writhing on the ground, still screaming as if she were being attacked. However, there were only Auror's about her, attempting to assist her. The woman almost seemed as if she was possessed or under the Cruciatus curse, but that was highly unlikely here at Azkaban. Curses were no longer used by the Aurors and no on else had a wand or use of magic.

Two Auror's finally managed to grab a hold of the woman and carried her off, struggling between them toward the hospital ward.

'Alright everyone,' one of the remaining Auror's yelled, 'back to your cells.'

The few prisoners who had been in the hall and able to follow the Aurors to watch the scene, obediently moved toward their cells once more.

Snape's Auror had not been among those that had taken the woman away and he arrived at Snape's cell door a moment after the Professor.

'Okay Snape, your visitor is still waiting I believe, let's go.'

Snape moved into his cell and pulled the box of chocolates from his desk top. He then turned and followed the Auror to the visiting rooms.

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The only person in a good mood at the Dragon's practice session was Harry. Blaise was in a particularly foul mood, yelling and screaming at the players as if he was the captain. He even screamed at their captain causing an all out brawl among the players, except for Harry.

Nothing seemed to be able to bring Harry down from his good mood; the one he'd carried since leaving Draco's home at about six-o-clock that morning.

The team huddled and Harry flew upward ignoring them, tired of listening to all the fracas. A few moments later Blaise flew out of the small airborne huddle toward Harry.

'We are going to work on the Dip and Fall Formation,' Blaise informed Harry curtly and then frowned, 'and wipe that fucking happy smile off your face, you look like a bloody idiot.'

Harry's smile grew even wider as he flew off to practice the formation with his team. The practice was fairly rough all the way through; everyone seemed to be on edge due to their upcoming game against the Slayers. They were heated rivals.

Harry left the changing room after practice to a room full of glares. Everyone seemed to be angry at him for daring to be _happy_ during the practice.

Harry didn't mind, he figured it would pass. He went home and had lunch with his godfather and Remus. During lunch he informed them that he would have to go out for a bit in the early evening.

'Where are you headed?' Remus asked casually.

'I have to make a trip to the Burrows,' Harry replied.

'Well good because Remy and I have been wanting to make a little trip to Hogsmeade,' Sirius said at once, 'I don't know what your plans are, Harry, but we were thinking of taking dinner out and then seeing all the new shops and things that they have installed since our last visit. You are welcome to join us.'

'Uggh,' Harry groaned, 'I have seen way too much of Hogsmeade. Why don't you two go and have a nice night out and we'll spend tomorrow evening together. That way you can take your time and you don't have to rush back. I'll have dinner at the Burrows.'

Sirius laughed, 'okay, sounds good.' He looked at Remus who was also smiling, 'looks like we are going to have a date then Remy.'

Remus rolled his eyes, but he looked happy about spending time alone on the town with his mate.

They spoke of other matters for the rest of the meal and then all three retired to their rooms to prepare for their respective trips.

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Harry left the pit and apparated to the Burrows. He stayed longer than he had anticipated and didn't end up eating at all, despite Mrs. Weasley's insistence that he do so. He sat alone with Ginny in the front room chatting the whole time. It was well into the evening when he left and he decided to head over to the Unicorn; they served food as well as drinks and there would be a number of players still about. Perhaps even a certain player, he thought, smiling to himself a little.

Ron was at the Unicorn sitting with his team and Harry stood speaking with him a while before making his way to the table his team occupied. He noted that Draco was at the Slayer table and nodded as he passed. Draco returned his nod and then went on talking to his mates.

Harry sat down next to Blaise and smiled at his still rather irritated teammate.

'What are you so damned happy about?' Blaise asked, grimacing.

Harry chuckled and ignored the question, 'I'm starving; where is Bella?' he looked about for the veela waitress.

'She went to re-fill her tray she'll be back.' Blaise said tiredly.

A Slayer player walked by their table on the way to the loo and saw Blaise's disgruntled face, 'aw,' he taunted, 'does Blaisey need a nappy change?'

Blaise looked up angrily, 'Shut it Marcus,' he yelled at the player, 'before I shut it for you.'

Marcus laughed and continued on his way.

'Those fuckers are going to pay this weekend, we are going to kick their bloody asses,' Blaise said tersely. 'I could use another beer,' he looked around, 'damn that Bella, what the hell is taking her so long?' He reached into his pocket and began feeling around and his face suddenly filled with anger.

'Draco!' Blaise yelled.

'What?' Draco looked at Blaise from the Slayer table.

'Get over here. Now!'

Draco smiled lazily and arose from the Slayer table, making his way slowly to the Dragon table.

Harry laughed figuring Blaise was going to give Draco hell for something or another. Blaise was in one of his very black moods. Harry began looking around for Bella again. She was no where in sight. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of candy, untying the wrapper and plopping it into his mouth.

Draco arrived at their table and his eyes flickered to meet Harry's before moving toward Blaise. However they flickered back once more and he froze staring at the candy wrapper Harry was then throwing onto the table.

It was unmistakably the same wrapper used on the candies Draco had given to Snape! He looked from the candy wrapper to Harry and back again, his eyes widening.

'What?' Harry asked noting his regard.

Blaise who had been on the point of yelling at Draco was too stopped from speaking as a result of Draco's strange behavior.

'Harry!' Draco cried suddenly. Harry had suddenly grabbed his throat and lurched forward, wheezing like the devil.

Everyone around them stared, stunned by Harry's apparent sudden choking and then Blaise and Draco quickly moved to either side of the Gryffindor.

Harry's body started convulsing and it was evident that he could not breath, he was gasping, making choking sounds, and his hands were pulling at his throat.

Blaise began pounding on Harry's back, thinking the chocolate went down the wrong pipe. Draco pulled his wand and sent a healing spell, but nothing seemed to help. Harry's face had turned purple and he was emitting a thin whine, as if struggling to get air into his lungs.

Harry suddenly jerked upward, lifting his torso and his eyes rolled back in his head. With a final gasp he went limp and his body slumped. Only the fact that Blaise and Draco still held him prevented him from falling to the floor.

Everyone began talking and screaming at once.

Blaise started yelling as well, 'we've got to get him to St. Mungos.'

Draco snapped into action. He gripped Harry tightly and without a word he apparated.

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Draco paced nervously in the waiting room. It had only been five minutes but it seemed like hours since he'd gotten Harry to St. Mungos. He became frustrated and walked out of the room and to a nearby healer's station.

'How is he,' he demanded of the woman behind the counter.

'How is whom?'

'Harry'

'Harry?'

'Harry Potter you doofus!'

The woman looked surprised, 'Harry Potter is here?'

Draco turned angrily and began storming down the hall, intending to find the room where they had taken him. He wasn't watching where he was going and ran directly into a healer. Draco looked up and with some relief noted it was the healer who had taken charge of Harry when they arrived.

'How is he?' Draco demanded anxiously.

'I was just coming to find you. It looks like you reached us in time. He will be alright.'

Draco felt as if the world had been lifted from his shoulders, but he ignored the sensation. His forced his mind to calm, so that he could concentrate on what he was saying.

'What was it? What happened? Did he choke?' Draco asked.

'In a manner of speaking he did. He was poisoned.'

'P-poisoned?'

The healer nodded solemnly. 'I am afraid so. It appears as though there was poison in something he ate, from what we can ascertain it was something containing chocolate.'

Draco's eyes rounded. 'ch-chocolate?'

'Yes and if you had arrived even a minute later, Harry would no longer be with us. Do you realize what that would have meant to our world?'

Draco ignored the man's question, 'but he is going to be alright now?'

'Yes. I have to try and locate Sirius Black his godfather.'

Draco's mind was still in somewhat of a dazed, but he managed to make out what the healer had said. 'He's here; Black is staying at Harry's home.'

'Oh good. Thank you.'

'Can I see him?' Draco asked, his mind in a whirl of thought.

'Actually he is still undergoing a few healing spells. There are Aurors here who would like to speak to you prior to your seeing him in any case. If you wouldn't mind following me?'

Draco nodded dumbly and followed the healer to the end of the hall and into a suite of offices. He was led to a small room and the healer left after escorting him inside.

Two Aurors, Kingsley Shacklebolt and another man he did not recognize stood before him staring at him warily.

'Please sit down, Mr. Malfoy.'

Draco fell into the only chair in the room and stared at the Aurors with a slightly cunning expression in his eyes.

'We were advised that you were the person who brought Harry in today. Can you tell us what happened?' Shacklebolt's voice was calm, but the undercurrent of steel in his tone was not lost on Draco.

'I have no idea. We were all at the bar where all of the players go after Quidditch practice. He came in kind of late and sat down at a table with his team. Blaise, one of his teammates called me over to the table and when I arrived, Harry was eating…something and then he just started choking and convulsing and finally just blacked out. I immediately apparated him here.'

'I see,' Kingsley said smoothly, 'did you see what he was eating?'

'What he was – uh – no – that is, I didn't notice.' Draco wondered if the Aurors could tell he was lying. He didn't think so.

'Very well. That is all for now. We may have a few more questions in the future, after we have spoken to Harry.' The other Auror's tone had not been quite as smooth or amiable.

'That's fine,' Draco responded. The men were looking at him with suspicion, he was certain of it! But why? They couldn't know that he had originally bought the chocolate and given it to Snape.

Draco's brain was working furiously as he entered the waiting room once more; however, he was pulled from his contemplations at the sound of a loud commotion outside of the waiting room. He quickly turned and moved to the door, peeping outside.

Sirius Black was arguing loudly with one of the healers and looked as if he might strike the man at any moment. Remus Lupin was at his side and he didn't look like he had any plans to stop Black from demolishing the healer if he didn't comply with whatever it was Black was demanding.

'Now!' Sirius screamed.

'I am very sorry, but he is still undergoing-'

'I don't care if his body is in seven parts scattered throughout the hospital. You will immediately take me to each of those parts or I'll rip your throat out.'

The healer looked terribly frightened; Draco felt a twinge of pity for the poor man. There was sweat on his brow and his eyes were bulging from his head. 'I would sir, I promise you I would, but the rules-'

But the man broke off when Sirius grabbed him by the front of his healer's jacket and jerked him forward their faced inches apart.

'You will take me to him right this second or you won't have another second of life, do you understand me?' Sirius' tone had been deceptively low, but Draco could feel the threat in his words, even at a distance.

Another healer came running forward then. Draco recognized him as the healer that was in charge of Harry. 'Mr. Black, Mr. Black, let him go. Now!' he cried as he ran forward and began trying to pry Black's hands from the man's jacket.

'I want to see Harry now!' Sirius barked, his grip remaining firm.

'I will take you to him, right now, but you must release Healer Jeffries.'

Sirius shoved the man backwards a little as he released him and then turned furious eyes on the newly arrived healer. 'Where is he?' he growled.

'Follow me,' the healer said calmly, rather bravely under the circumstances.

The three walked off toward the end of the hallway and Draco watched, noting which room they had entered.

When they entered the room, Sirius and Remus rushed forward toward the bed. Harry's eyes were closed and his face was chalk white. Three healers surrounded him, two looked to be taking readings with their wands and a third was casting a spell on the lad.

Sirius pushed past one of the healers and leaned over his godson. 'Harry,' he hissed, his voice an emotional whisper.

The healer casting the spell looked at Sirius and his brow furrowed angrily. 'What are you doing here? No one is allowed in here right now.'

Sirius completely ignored the man, brushing Harry's hair back from his scar.

'I told you to get out,' the healer cried, furiously.

'Harry,' Sirius whispered again.

The healer opened his mouth to demand Black leave once again when suddenly he froze and stared. Harry had begun to move his head from side to side.

'Out of the way Black,' the healer said, thrusting his wand forward and casting another spell.

Sirius lifted his body away slightly and watched as Harry seemed to revive even more after the spell. A few moments later Harry's eyes flickered open and he took in the sight of two large heads peering over him.

Harry's vision cleared slowly, 'Sirius?' he muttered finally.

'Harry,' Sirius said, his voice sounding awfully close to a sob.

'I need to cast one final spell, Black,' the healer demanded in a firm tone.

Black looked at the healer for the first time and a bit of astonishment crossed his features. 'Frank, oh, damn, didn't realize it was you.'

Frank smiled wryly, 'well it is and you are in my way.'

Black backed up at once and allowed Frank to perform another spell.

Harry groaned lightly, squeezing his eyes tightly for a moment, but color began flooding back into his cheeks and his eyes were much clearer when they opened once more.

'Didn't know you had become a healer,' Sirius murmured as he moved to bow over Harry once more. Frank had been an old school chum of his at Hogwarts and working for the Order after that. Last he knew of, Frank was laid up in the hospital good as dead, some curiosity stole into his soul about his friend, but that was for later.

'Well I have and you have broken all protocol,' Frank said arrogantly, but then his voice softened, 'but I think hearing your voice might have brought him around.'

Sirius barely heard him; he had begun speaking softly to Harry. Remus had moved forward as well and stood looking down with concern, waiting to speak until Sirius had convinced himself that Harry wasn't going to join the after-world.

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Draco stood pacing in the hall outside of the door. He couldn't hear anything from the inside and although the healer had said Harry was fine, he was still worried. That damned chocolate! He cursed himself over and over for having given it to Snape. He had known that the man hated chocolate; it was obvious he would have had other plans for it.

When the door burst open a few moments later and Sirius and Remus came out, Draco moved to meet them.

'Malfoy,' Sirius said.

Draco noted that his tone hadn't been unpleasant, 'is he alright?' he asked, his voice a little hesitant.

'Yes. He'll be fine. Thank you for bringing him here so swiftly.'

Draco nodded.

'He asked if you were still here. You should go in; I think he wants to thank you personally.'

Draco nodded again, noting the slightly knowing looks both Sirius and Remus were giving him. He moved by them quickly and entered the room. He heard the door close behind him.

'Draco,' Harry murmured when he stepped inside.

Relief again washed over Draco; Harry looked much better than the last time he'd seen him. Course anything would be better; Harry had been one step from death.

'How are you feeling?' Draco asked approaching the bed.

Harry gave him a lopsided smile, 'great!' he said with false cheer, 'I'm ready to hit the pitch and charge after the snitch!'

Draco chuckled a little, 'well you look much better.'

'I imagine. They told me I was on the brink of death.'

Draco nodded, 'it was awful and you just collapsed.'

Harry nodded, furrowing his brow a little, 'ta for getting me here.'

Draco shrugged, 'I owed you one.'

Harry's smile turned slightly devilish, 'that you did. A Malfoy drowning in his beer would make an awful headline.'

Draco chuckled a little and then looked intently at the Gryffindor, 'I'm just glad we got here in time.'

Harry nodded again, his brow suddenly angling downward.

'About that chocolate you were eating at the Unicorn,' Draco began.

'They told me,' Harry interjected, 'it was poisonous.'

Draco nodded, 'yeah, that is what caused you to become ill.'

'You mean nearly killed me.'

Draco frowned, 'where did you get it?'

Harry looked suddenly uncomfortable, 'I…I don't really remember.'

Draco's face grew somber, 'Harry, the chocolate you were eating was from a box that held one-of-a-kind chocolates. There are no other chocolates like them in the entire world.'

Harry frowned deeply, 'how do you know that?'

'I know.'

'Yes, but how do you know?'

'Where did you get it Harry?' Draco's tone carried an edge.

'I don't see why-'

'I'll tell you why. I know exactly who you got it from.'

Harry looked at Draco in amazement, 'you do?'

'I do.'

'But how, I mean…?'

Because I am the person who gave the whole box of original chocolates to the person who gave it to you.

'You?' Harry looked thunderstruck, 'you?' he repeated, 'but…why? Why would you give chocolates to Ginny?'

It was Draco's turn to look astonished, 'Ginny?'

'Ginny gave me the chocolate.'

Draco looked completely puzzled. He drew a hand to his temples and began massaging them. If Harry got the chocolate from Ginny, that meant she had gotten them from Snape. Snape's mystery visitor must have been Ginny.

'Why did you give Ginny chocolates?' Harry pressed, his tone wary now.

'I didn't give-' Draco cut himself off, 'Ginny visits Snape at Azkaban?' he interrupted himself to ask.

Harry flinched and then looked at Draco with narrowed eyes, 'how do you know about that?'

'I didn't, I just – it is just that I gave the chocolates to Snape and if Ginny gave you one it would mean that he had given one to her.'

'Not one, the whole box,' Harry said slowly and then his expression suddenly filled with acute fear, 'you've got to warn her! You must tell Ginny not to eat the chocolates or to give any to anyone else! I didn't even think of it earlier and I haven't told anyone yet, you must go now!'

Draco nodded and immediately started for the door, but then his steps slowed and he turned, 'what if – what if Snape didn't poison the chocolates?'

Harry looked at him warningly, 'Ginny wouldn't have done it! She would never do that…not to me or anyone else.'

Draco shook his head worriedly and pulled the door open.

'Draco,' Harry called.

Draco looked at the Gryffindor.

'Wait. It would be better if you told Sirius and Remus to talk to Ginny.'

Draco nodded, 'I'll go get them.'

Draco returned with Remus a few moments later and Remus moved immediately to Harry's side.

'Sirius is speaking with your healer, Harry, what's happened?' Remus asked.

'Remus, the chocolate I ate,' he said excitedly, 'I got it from Ginny and she had a whole box. You must go and warn her not to eat them.'

Remus startled and stared at Harry for a moment before suddenly jumping into action. 'I'll be back shortly,' he declared as he ran from the room.

'I hope he makes it in time.'

'I am sure he will, you said she wasn't planning to eat them and tucked them away.'

Harry nodded a little worriedly.

Draco's expression was a tad calculating, 'the chocolates certainly were not poisonous when I gave them to Snape,' he declared.

That provoked a small smile from Harry, 'no, I do not think you were trying to kill Snape, Draco.'

Draco grinned a moment, 'no and even if I had been it would have been discovered when the Aurors checked and tested the chocolates when I arrived with them at Azkaban.'

Harry nodded, his face creased with worry once more.

Draco sat on the edge of the bed, 'don't worry about it now, I am sure everything will be alright and you don't need the stress right now.'

Harry looked at Draco a little angrily, 'Ginny is like a sister to me.'

'I know, but there is little good worrying will do you and a lot of good not worrying will.'

Harry drew his hands along his face. 'I can't help it.'

Draco was not accustomed to comforting others in such a situation; he'd been awful at it during the war. He bit his lip wondering what to say and breathed a heavy sigh of relief when Remus suddenly rushed back into the room.

Harry looked up anxiously.

'She hasn't eaten them nor has she given any away. I knew you would be worried so I popped back here to let you know, but I have to speak to Sirius and then return, naturally Ginny is full of questions and I haven't explained anything to her yet.'

'Thank god. Thank you Remy.'

Remus smiled, 'I'll be back shortly if all of this portkeying doesn't kill me,' he added as he rushed back toward the door.

'Remy,' Harry called stopping the man's progress, 'I don't know if she will mention it or not, but it appears that she may have gotten them from Snape.'

Remus' jaw dropped, 'Snape?'

Harry swallowed, 'she has been visiting him for some time, although very few people know about it. It appears that he gave them to her.'

Remus' expression moved from furious to determination in a matter of seconds. He took a deep breath and nodded at Harry, 'I'll handle everything, Harry; just you relax.'

Remus pulled the door open and moved through quickly.

'Well at least Ginny won't eat any of them or give them away,' Draco sad consolingly to Harry, 'feel better?'

'Yeah,' Harry responded sighing a bit.

So did Draco, seeing as he no longer had to figure out a way to comfort someone else.

'I can't imagine Snape would poison the chocolates,' Draco said distractedly.

'From the sounds of things he did just that.'

'Well, nothing is impossible,' Draco mused, 'but why was Ginny visiting him?'

Harry shrugged a little, 'she has been visiting him for a while. She says that they discuss potions, but her parents and I are worried about it. I've been trying to talk to her, but she has been closing up, insisting that there is nothing more to her visits.'

'Since when has Ginny become so interested in potions?'

'Exactly,' Harry said sighing, 'I mean, she did start showing an interest in potions a while back, but nothing extraordinary. The thing is, she may have originally gone to visit Snape to ask him something about potions, but has continued to go…regularly and frequently and well…'

Draco's expression was wry, 'you think there might be something else going on between them?'

Harry shrugged again, his face twisting in disgust, 'I really hope not, but it looks like that might be the case. Of course now I have no idea what might have passed between them. I mean his giving her chocolates would be an indication that their relationship was something more than simply a dual interest in potions. However, the fact that he poisoned them…'

'Quite,' Draco agreed, 'not exactly the action a man would take were he interested in pursuing a romantic relationship with someone.'

A moue of distaste again crossed Harry's face, 'no it isn't.'

'Perhaps he thought Ginny's visits were romantic in nature and then she told him otherwise?'

Harry cocked an eyebrow at the Slytherin, 'we are talking about Snape. I simply cannot imagine him falling desperately in love and attempting murder when he found out he was not loved in return…that is way too Shakespearean for Snape.'

Draco laughed, 'true.'

Harry shook his head slowly, 'there must be another reason why he wanted to poison her. It makes little sense…'

Draco nodded in agreement.

'Well, Remus is speaking with Ginny now, maybe he'll discover what is behind all of this.' Harry frowned again, his mind collapsing into thought.

Draco noticed that Harry seemed a bit pale again. A topic change was in order.

'So you won't likely be able to play in our game this weekend,' he said, his tone light.

Harry's expression became instantly sardonic, 'I am certain you are very upset about that.'

Draco grinned, 'terribly, I feel like weeping.'

Harry narrowed his eyes, 'you may well be weeping after the game. Our backup seeker is pretty tight.'

'The only thing about Cho Chang that is tight is her ass.'

Harry laughed, 'I wouldn't be so smug about it if I were you. She can be very challenging.'

'I'm shaking with fright.'

'You fucking should be.'

Draco laughed and rolled his eyes. 'Well I should be going, you need to rest' he said rising.

'You don't have to leave, I am not that tired.'

'Well you should rest and I should get home, I have another double practice tomorrow and I haven't gotten much sleep the last few days,' he gave Harry a knowing look.

Harry laughed, 'true.' His face grew serious, 'listen Draco, I don't want you to get involved in all of this. Sirius said that he was hiring a detective and I will tell him what you told me.'

Draco scowled, 'I have every intention of speaking to Snape. I can't believe he would-'

'Draco, please don't. I think it would be better if you just stayed out of it.'

Draco frowned, 'why? I gave him the chocolates and I have a right to know what the hell-'

'I know,' Harry cut in, 'but I would really prefer it if you left it to the detective. If Snape was willing to kill Ginny, who knows what he would do to you if you start accusing him.'

'He could hardly harm me, Harry. He's in Azkaban for god sakes.'

'Right, he is and yet here I lay nearly poisoned to death. Please Draco, I'd just feel much better if you stayed out of it.'

Draco narrowed his eyes a bit, 'are you going to tell them that I gave the chocolates to Snape?'

Harry met his eyes, 'is there some reason I shouldn't?'

Draco shook his head instantly, 'no. But of course that is going to get me involved whether we like it or not.'

'I don't see how really; I mean the Aurors will be able to show that the chocolate was clean when you gave it to him.'

Draco nodded slowly. He met Harry's eyes again and noticed that he wasn't looking so good anymore. Dealing with stress was obviously taking its toll on the lad and Draco suddenly felt like shit for adding to it.

'Yeah, okay. I'll stay out of it as much as possible.'

'Promise,' Harry said.

'I promise,' Draco said tersely.

'I'm serious Draco, I am going to hold you to that; I don't like thinking-'

'I swear I won't get involved!' Draco declared, 'I will do a bloody unbreakable vow with you over it if you insist, but please just calm down and stop begging me for things I have already promised.'

Harry grinned a little, his pallor returning to something more normal, 'thanks, I really appreciate it.'

Draco shook his head a little sighing, 'if you are finished making demands of me, I'll be on my way.'

Harry nodded, a small laugh escaping him.

'Get well,' Draco said in an uncharacteristically gentle tone before turning toward the door and pulling it open.

'Draco,' Harry called.

The Slytherin turned and to meet Harry's eyes, a questioning look on his face.

'Poison isn't contagious you know.'

Draco stared at him from the door unmoving.

Harry lifted his brows.

Draco sighed and allowed the door to close again, but still he didn't move.

Harry's wide smile appeared, 'listen Draco, I think I know what is going through your head. The fact is that right now I am not looking to be with anyone on a regular basis or anything. You and I are having a…well a fling and I know that. But while we are, I see no reason not to take advantage of all the perks.'

Draco let out a breath and grinned, 'good, I hoped you hadn't misconstrued what was going on between us.'

'I haven't.'

Draco walked to the edge of the bed.

'You needn't worry,' Harry continued, 'if I seem a little infatuated at times it is natural for me. I am always that way during a fling.'

Draco gave a low chuckle, shaking his head bit, 'I see.'

Harry grinned, 'it's a Gryffindor thing.'

Draco laughed outright at that and then bent and ended his laughter against Harry's lips. He intended for it to be short and sweet, but Harry got a little greedy with it.

Draco had a small grin about his lips when he finally pulled away and stood up.

Harry's lips were curved as well, 'alright. You can go now.'

'Wanker,' Draco responded good-naturedly, 'goodbye, Harry.' Draco turned and headed for the door once more.

'Bye Draco, and you can come again if you like. Tell me how the game goes and all.'

'Like you won't be watching it.' Draco paused to look at the hanging magical screen in the room.

'I would rather hear first hand.'

Draco met Harry's eyes and laughed, nodding a little, 'alright. See ya then.'

'See ya.' Harry said, a contented smile on his face.

When Draco opened the door Sirius rushed by him and Draco stared at the man's back a moment before dashing away. He had no plans to be around when Harry told Sirius that it had been he who had supplied Snape with the chocolate in the first place.

Sirius moved directly to the bed and looked down at his godson, 'how are you feeling?' Sirius asked, noting Harry looked fairly content.

'Much better, thanks. Has Remus returned?'

Sirius looked suddenly angry, but it was obvious he was attempting to rein in his ire, 'He did return for a few moments, but has returned to the Burrows. He is…speaking with Ginny. I am sure he will return soon.'

'She got the candies from Snape,' Harry remarked.

Sirius' face took on a very black aspect, 'yes I know,' he said, his voice almost a snarl. Then his face cleared, 'but don't you worry about any of that. We'll take care of everything.'

'Ginny-'

'Ginny is fine.' Sirius' face collapsed into anger again, 'however Snape-' he began.

'Why would he try and poison her?' Harry interrupted, 'I mean, she has been visiting him for almost a year. It has her parents worried sick and they asked me to speak to her about it. I have been doing so, but she insists it is none of our affair. She says she has acquired an interest in potions and they discuss it…'

Sirius looked as if he might explode with anger any moment, 'yes I know that as well. We don't know why he did it and Ginny has no idea either…or so she says. That is why they are still speaking with her.'

'They?'

Sirius frowned and cleared his throat, 'Remus and…a couple of Aurors and the detective I hired, they are all there talking to her now.'

'Aurors and a detective? But Ginny didn't do anything, it was Snape.'

'Well they are just getting information from her. Don't worry, I asked Remus to stay and her parents are there. They will make sure no harm comes to her. Now you just relax and get some rest, we'll take care of everything.'

'You hired a detective?'

'Well if Snape is responsible for this, then it is possible he had assistance from the outside. It would be very difficult for him to poison the chocolates while in Azkaban. Nonetheless, he may have found a way to do it. He has always had his big nose in potions books, Merlin only knows what he may have come up with using ordinary foods and items at he prison.'

Harry's face crunched into a look of confusion, 'that just seems so far-fetched.'

'The whole thing seems far-fetched until you consider Snape may be involved. I wouldn't put anything passed that greasy, rat bastard. He's an evil, no-good swine; always has been and always will be.'

'Well yes, but even for Snape it all seems a little bit too much.'

'Nothing is too much when it comes to that sniveling git,' Sirius met Harry's eyes and noted that the lad looked fatigued. His tone softened immediately, 'but you don't need to bother with any of that. Just let us handle it and don't worry about Ginny, I'll see to it that she is not tyrannized. I am going to head over there again, I just wanted to make sure you were alright.'

Harry nodded and tilted his head up to accept Sirius' kiss on the cheek.

'I'm fine.' Harry assured him.

'I can stay a while if you like, they don't really need me.'

'I'd like that, I am not very tired and I don't particularly want to lie here watching the broadcasts alone.'

Sirius laughed and slumped himself into a chair, 'okay then,' he looked at Harry with twinkling eyes, 'so what did you and Draco talk about? Or a better question might be, was there any talking involved?'

Harry laughed, 'I have no intention of feeding your visual voyeurism. But there is one thing I wanted to mention. Draco told me that it was he who originally gave the chocolates to Snape.'

Sirius' chair banged into the wall as he sat up, 'what?'

'He visits him from time to time, and he gave the chocolates to Snape. But you can be certain that he did not poison them; they were checked by the Auror's prior to his delivering them.'

Sirius relaxed in his chair a bit, 'well that is true.' He recalled how thoroughly he was searched when visiting. 'Still, I should inform the detective. He'll want to know.'

'But you have to make him understand that Draco had nothing to do with it, Siri. I don't want Draco involved in this if possible.'

Sirius narrowed his eyes, 'don't worry about it Harry. Like you said, I am sure they tested the chocolates before they left his hands. The Aurors will be able to verify that he was not the one doing the poisoning.'

Harry nodded a little worriedly.

Sirius smiled, 'I don't think Draco was out to poison anyone, dear boy. I think he has other things equally as dramatic, but much less lethal on his mind these days.'

Harry laughed, 'you're fucking mind has drifted into the gutter, Sirius.'

Sirius rolled his eyes, 'my _fucking_ mind is always in the gutter, Harry.'

Harry's laughter grew even louder and Sirius' joined him. The two began talking about Quidditch after that until Harry finally started drifting off to sleep.

Sirius stayed until Harry fell asleep and then quietly left the room.

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When Sirius arrived at the Burrows, Ginny was still being interrogated by the Aurors and the detective he had hired. Ginny sat facing them at the kitchen table and Remus and her parents were standing behind. Sirius moved next to Remus and listened.

'As I told you,' Ginny was saying softly, 'the only reason I went was to discuss potions.'

'Yes, so you have said,' the detective said, 'and you also say that he indicated that he gave you the chocolates merely as a way of thanking you for your visits.'

'That is correct.'

'And you are certain you have no idea where he got the chocolates?'

'None. There was…well I am sure it means nothing.'

'Please Ginny,' the detective said gently, 'anything you can add, no matter how unconnected it may seem may prove helpful.'

'He would not try to poison me!' Ginny insisted, 'a while ago he said…well he said that there was someone who seemed to be pestering him or something. Because of the particular conversation we were having at the time, I got the idea that the person was infatuated with him or something and wouldn't leave him alone although he had asked them to. I was thinking maybe he got the chocolates from that person.'

'Someone infatuated with Snape who continued to bother him with their presence? And you have no idea who that person might have been?'

'None.'

'I know exactly who it was,' Sirius cut in suddenly.

All eyes turned toward the animagi, whose face had become grim. While he had been completely convinced of Malfoy's innocence earlier, this latest information from Ginny put a whole new twist on the situation.

Sirius' tone was ominous, 'Draco Malfoy gave the chocolates to Snape.'


	9. Chapter 9

**To Lay A Dragon**

**All of the delectable characters belong to JK Rowling. **

**Chapter 9**

**A/N: Thank you guys for your wonderful notes. I really appreciated them. The plot thickens…enjoy!**

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Upon Sirius' pronouncement that Draco Malfoy had given the chocolates to Snape, silence fell over the room. All eyes were trained on the animagus as they grappled with the new information and considered whether Malfoy could possibly be the bothersome individual that Snape had referred to, and according to Ginny, infatuated with the ex-professor.

The detective finally broke the silence, his face somewhat pale, 'I will speak with Mr. Malfoy tomorrow,' he said thoughtfully. He turned to face Ginny, 'will you allow me to submit the box of chocolates Mr. Snape gave you for testing?'

Ginny didn't look up; she merely nodded her head in acquiesce.

The Aurors present seemed to wish to further discuss Draco Malfoy's involvement; however the detective called the interview to an end. The Ministry had directed the Aurors to give the detective Sirius had hired leeway in the matter, informing them that the man was working on their behalf as well. He was quite well known at the Ministry, having solved cases for them in the past and they had complete faith in the man.

Sirius' concern of course was related to Draco's relationship with Harry; while he still didn't feel that Draco intended to poison his grandson, he wasn't so sure the young Slytherin hadn't intended to poison Snape. Who wouldn't want to poison Snape? Still, he didn't want Harry to have anything to do with Draco Malfoy if that turned out to be the case.

Sirius and Remus followed the detective as he exited the backdoor of the Burrows.

'Thank you Nicolas,' Remus said when the three finally stood outside alone.

The detective smiled in response and started to respond, but Sirius spoke before he could get a word out.

Sirius' tone was a bit ragged, 'Nicolas, I am very concerned about Malfoy's involvement in this-,' he began.

The detective played with the box of candies he held in his hands and did not meet Sirius' eyes, 'don't worry about it,' he interjected, 'I will see to Malfoy tomorrow. I have already arranged to see Mr. Snape in the morning, but I will speak with young Malfoy directly afterward.'

'It is just that Malfoy and my godson have some sort of relationship starting up or going on…I don't know what stage it is in, but Harry is quite attracted to the lad I need to know about Malfoy before anything more happens between them. It is possible he poisoned those chocolates using methods the Aurors wouldn't detect.'

The detective nodded lightly and finally met Sirius' eyes, 'I will handle it, don't worry, Sirius. I promise will let you know anything I discover immediately,' he finished in a quiet tone.

To anyone watching, Sirius' reaction would have likely seemed a bit odd. He quite inexplicably grinned, and then his eyes began to twinkle, 'that's fine then. By the way, I would like to attend your interview with Snape tomorrow morning.'

The detective chuckled lightly, 'I am sure you would. However, I don't think that is a good idea, Sirius. Your return to the earthly word from a state of limbo did not wreak any major changes in your character. The mere mention of the man's name is enough to send your insides to boiling. I think I will be better off interviewing him alone.'

Sirius' grin widened, 'you know me too well, my friend,' he then sobered a bit, 'thank you for helping us, Nicolas.'

The detective smiled, 'the Ministry will thank me in gold for looking into a matter pertaining to Harry Potter. But I don't expect my good friends to thank me for helping them; you know I would have done this for the two of you with pleasure and at no cost.'

Sirius reached out and hugged the man quickly, 'yeah, okay, Nicolas,' he said carelessly.

Remus laughed and hugged their friend himself once Sirius had released him. 'You know where to reach us,' he said glancing fondly at their friend.

The detective nodded and with a warm smile in their direction he turned and faded into the night.

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Draco was seated in his study when the detective was shown into the room by one of his house elves. A model Slytherin, Draco didn't show any reaction at all when the man entered, although a small surge of surprise moved through him.

The detective was perhaps the most attractive man Draco had ever set his eyes upon. His hair was chestnut colored in the main, but it was streaked with strands of gold and blonde and the not-quite-curls, not-quite-waves, moved freely about his head, reaching just to his shoulders. His forehead was framed by lively bangs resting above a pair of eyes that were nothing short of entrancing. Light brown orbs flecked with amber met his own, exuding a friendliness Draco hadn't expected.

The detective was taller than himself and his build was lithe and strong, something his robe did not obscure. The man looked more like a cover-boy for Witches Weekly than a detective, but his professional manner spoke to an innate intelligence and seriousness of character and nothing of the playboy.

'Nicolas Benet,' the detective said with a slight French accent, reaching out to shake Draco's hand when he stood.

'Draco Malfoy,' the Slytherin replied, 'please have a seat.'

Benet's lips tugged into a small smile as he accepted the offer, but his expression then turned unsettlingly intense.

'You received my note explaining why I have come?' Benet asked.

Draco nodded, attempting to not feel slightly intimidated by the direct gaze of the other man.

'I was at Azkaban all morning and I interviewed Snape, so I have obtained most of the information I require with respect to your visits with him. I merely wanted to verify a few details and ask a few additional questions of you.'

'Certainly,' Draco replied, trying to imagine how Snape had coped with this particular detective.

Benet's deep tone was solemn, but not unkind, 'so you gave Severus Snape the chocolates that ultimately were given to Miss Weasley, is that correct?'

'From what I have been able to piece together, I believe so. I never actually saw the box of chocolates Ginny Weasley received.'

Benet nodded, 'how did you piece that together?'

Draco shifted in his seat a little, the man's gaze was not only penetrating, but there was something terribly seductive about it. 'I saw the wrapper of the chocolate Harry ate at the bar. It was one of the candies I gave to Snape; they were one-of-a-kind so I knew that it had come from the same box. Harry told me he gotten the chocolate from Ginny.'

'Ah, so you recall that Harry was eating a chocolate when he began choking. The Aurors indicated that you had told them you were unsure what he had eaten that had caused him to choke,' Benet remarked softly.

Draco was suddenly very uncomfortable, but he attempted to hide that fact from the detective. He hadn't even considered the lie he'd told in the hospital. That was so out of character for him he was taken aback; he was far too cunning to not recall his lies and at least _act_ as if his memory had instantly improved if he decided to tell the truth at a later time.

'I – I seem to have recalled since I spoke with them I guess,' Draco said lamely, cursing himself for his lack of concentration…it was just that the man's eyes…

'I see,' Benet responded.

'I am willing to take veritaserum if you would like,' Draco offered. He had no intentions of lying; he'd already told Harry everything he suspected Benet might ask him.

Benet's smiled, an engaging smile that Draco couldn't help notice made his rather entrancing features even more engaging, 'that won't be necessary. I have…certain skills that eliminate the need for any truth serum.'

Draco fidgeted a little; he believed him. It seemed like the detective's penetrating gaze saw right into his soul.

'So the chocolates were checked by the Azkaban Aurors before you gave them to Snape. I have already verified that,' Benet continued, 'and you have been visiting Snape for five years, once a month, is that correct?'

'Yes.'

'Snape informed me that he is not interested in having you visit him at all.'

Draco inclined his head, acknowledging the statement.

Benet's lips twitched and Draco couldn't seem to pull his eyes from the small curve of the other man's full lips, 'why do you continue to visit Snape if he does not wish it?' Benet asked lightly.

'I – I,' Draco paused and drew his eyes downward, attempting to pull himself together. 'I owe him my life. He saved both me and my mother from death during the war.'

'I see; do you begrudge him that? Do you dislike being in debt to the man?'

Draco found it much easier to speak to the detective with his eyes focused on the desk between them, 'of course not. Whatever he may have ultimately done, he was working strictly for the good side when he saved us. I appreciate it very much.'

'Perhaps you are _very _grateful?'

Draco looked up then, his expression quizzing, 'very grateful? I am quite grateful for what he did.'

The detective nodded, 'I have gathered that you and Harry Potter are quite good friends.'

The swift change of topic confused the Slytherin a little and he quickly drew his eyes down again, 'we are friends, yes.'

'Well I don't mean to be forward,' Benet said quietly, 'however, what I mean to say is that when it comes to romance, you seem to have a penchant for those of the same sex.'

Years of experience at retaining a calm exterior prevented Draco from revealing the discomfort he was suddenly feeling. It wasn't the question so much; there was no shame in the wizard world for being attracted to the same sex. It was just that Draco was still toiling with the issue of his sexuality himself.

'I am bisexual if that is what you are asking,' Draco responded, his eyes still boring into the desk.

'You haven't by chance developed feelings for Severus Snape have you?' the man asked softly.

Draco had been so caught up in his thoughts that he hadn't seen the question coming at all. His face screwed up with disgust, 'no,' he replied firmly, meeting Benet's eyes as he pronounced the word.

The detective conceded the point with a nod, his eyes holding just a hint of amusement.

Draco dropped his eyes once more.

'I am aware that your family was deeply interested in the dark arts in the past,' the detective continued, skipping happily from one horrible topic to the next.

'That is common knowledge,' Draco replied somewhat bitterly.

'Quite,' came the quiet response, 'and prior to your change of heart during the war, you too were quite immersed in the dark arts.'

Draco frowned, 'a little bit of; there were times when I had to…when I dabbled to some extent.'

'If memory serves, you were responsible for finding a way to allow Death Eaters into Hogwarts around the time of Dumbledore's death. I daresay many would consider that a bit more than dabbling.'

'That was a long time ago,' Draco said quietly. The topic was still a sour one for him.

'It is difficult to bury the past,' Benet remarked musingly.

'Impossible it would seem.'

A deep sprinkle of laughter filled Draco's ears and his head jerked up. Laughter was the last thing he had expected.

'Not impossible,' Benet said, his tone almost soothing, 'merely difficult.'

Draco shrugged a little looking away from the man's emotion filled eyes. However, it was of little use; the longer the man remained, the more his aura seemed to fill the room. Draco could still feel the same pull on his soul that he had felt when he'd met the man's eyes directly.

Benet spoke softly, 'I have been around the world as a part of my work and I have come across spells, hexes, and incantations that Aurors have likely never heard of. Dark magic enacted on objects that no test of an Auror would reveal.'

'Sounds like interesting work,' Draco mumbled.

Benet's deep chuckle sent shivers along Draco's arms, 'such magic placed on chocolates could easily go uncovered by the Auror tests at Azkaban,' he commented.

Sudden heat filled Draco's heart, momentarily allowing him to ignore the odd waves filling the room, 'I did not poison the chocolates,' he demanded.

'I wasn't accusing you,' Benet replied quickly, 'it was merely information I felt should be shared between us.'

Draco took a deep breath and then heavily expelled it.

'Your father is also in Azkaban, is he not?'

Draco nodded.

'He too was quite adept at the dark arts. I have heard tales of him evoking complex incantations…some of them without a wand.'

'I wouldn't know about that. I never knew him capable of doing any such thing.'

'It would not likely be very difficult to spread poison about a bit of chocolate without a wand, if one knew the proper spell or incantation…'

Something black swam through Draco's heart, again piercing through the clouds that seemed to be muddling his brain. His eyes swept up to meet Benet's and tone was filled with rage when he spoke, 'you seem to know an awful lot about the dark arts. Perhaps I should be asking _you_ the questions.'

A heated flame lit Benet's eyes for a moment then just as quickly died. He laughed; a genuine burst of amusement and it was terribly disquieting. It tore away at the small ball of anger that had inexplicably formed in Draco's gut, leaving him uneasy and strangely, a little anxious.

'It is important to know what one is up against when dealing with dark wizards,' Benet remarked once his laughter had died down.

'Well if you want to know anything about my father, you should speak to him directly.'

'Have you?'

'Have I what?'

'When was the last time you spoke with your father?'

'Over ten years ago.'

'You haven't visited with him at Azkaban?'

'No. He refuses to see me. I am sure the Aurors can verify that for you as well.'

The detective was silent for so long, Draco finally looked up. The amber flecks in the detective's brown eyes were glistening; they looked almost as if they were lit by a golden flame. There seemed to be a collage of a thousand emotions swimming in their depths, but one of them Draco could easily interpret. It was fierce compassion and it hit him like a ton of bricks.

Draco felt as if his stomach had suddenly filled with a thousand butterflies and every nerve in his body was standing on end. He began to feel a mesmerizing, yet familiar pull; wave after wave of sensation began pouring through him, filling his soul and pulling at his heart.

It was inviting; he wanted to move closer, feel the warmth of the man's arms close around him and his warm breath against his skin. He wanted each of the emotions shining from those gleaming amber eyes to close around his soul; so compelling, so understanding…he knew this feeling…a craving so beautiful, a memory so divine and so…

A keen sense of horror abruptly slashed through Draco's being like a lightening bolt; he jerked his head sideways, pulling his eyes from the detective and in the next second he was standing, his wand pointed at the man with a shaking hand. His face had paled tremendously and his eyes were filled with unmitigated fright.

Draco backed slowly from his desk until his back hit the curtained window behind him, a malevolent curse on the tip of his tongue. He would have uttered the curse immediately, but once he'd stood, the overwhelming feelings had faded all at once and the man…the man had closed his eyes …something didn't quite fit the picture of doom that had summarily planted itself on his brain and that gave him pause.

'Who are you?' Draco whispered, his voice hoarse and ragged to his own ears.

The detective's eyes had remained closed and his long lashes rested on cheeks heightened by small patches of color. When Draco spoke he opened his eyes, but did not look at Draco; he focused them on the table before him.

'I am not who you think I am,' he responded.

Draco's wand remained pointed at the man's heart and his body was still trembling slightly, but the words washed over him like a soothing balm.

'Who do you believe I think you are?' Draco asked, his tone still halting.

'I am just an ordinary wizard, Mr. Malfoy, you can rest your fears; as I mentioned, I have certain gifts. I come from a long line of similarly gifted wizards, but we are just that…wizards. Please sit down, I mean you know harm. We are nearly finished here.'

Draco looked at the man carefully and it slowly began dawning on him that the man was speaking the truth. The Slytherin's breathing was still labored, but his heart rate had begun to slow once more. He moved slowly back to his chair and sat down, placing his wand on the desk.

The detective's tone was careful and measured, 'I understand your reaction; you see, I am aware of the secret you are so desperately trying to hide from the world Mr. Malfoy.'

Draco flinched at the words and he gaped at the detective, completely dumbfounded. His heart started racing again and abject fear began forming in his eyes. _He couldn't know!_

'I do know,' the detective stated as if reading his mind, 'and I sympathize with you; I may even be able to help you in the future, although that might prove difficult.'

Draco was suddenly frightened out of his wits. The detective _knew._ He had no idea how the man knew, but he was absolutely certain that he did.

'However, right now there is a more pressing issue,' the detective continued, 'you should know that Sirius Black and Remus Lupin are very close friends of mine and they care a great deal for Harry Potter. I believe that there is some level of attraction between you and Mr. Potter and I will have to inform them-'

'No!' Draco cried vehemently.

The detective looked up then, his gaze no longer penetrating, but rather full of empathy, 'they are like brothers to me Mr. Malfoy; I will of course ask them to be discreet, but I will have to inform them.'

'No,' he repeated, his tone softened to a pitiful whimper.

'You have to understand Mr. Malfoy, you are not the only party involved here. I am not sure what your feelings are for Mr. Potter, but his godfather indicated that he is rather attracted to you.'

'Harry doesn't want…anything serious and…nor do I,' Draco responded in a barely audible tone, his face awash with misery.

'Well the seriousness of the relationship is not at issue; the ongoing attraction between the two of you is. Under those circumstances it is imperative that they be informed of-'

'I will talk to Harry,' Draco cut in quickly, 'I –I will tell Harry myself and there is no need for you to tell anyone else.'

The detective was silent for a long while and when he spoke his voice was gentle, 'I believe that will be satisfactory for now. I have only met Harry twice, briefly, but I know him to be a strong and clever young man and of course his past is legendary. However if anything occurs, it is important that you immediately inform his godfather and Remus.'

Draco nodded dumbly and closed his eyes; he felt emotionally exhausted.

The detective cleared his throat after giving Draco a few moments, 'I've just one question more Mr. Malfoy, pertaining to the matter that brought me here.'

Draco looked up again, slightly disconcerted. He'd nearly forgotten that he was being questioned about his involvement with the poisoned chocolates. That seemed woefully unimportant now.

The detective smiled kindly and Draco felt a small surge of tranquility pass through him. It left him feeling calmer and somehow able to cope with more questions. He was quite certain the enigmatic man before him was responsible for the magic behind the surge although the man didn't appear to have drawn his wand.

'Do you still carry the dark mark?' the detective asked quietly, his eyes once again focused on the table before him.

Draco shook his head, 'those of us who rebuked Voldemort had the mark removed,' he replied a little distractedly.

Benet looked up again suddenly, 'do you know that there are still those who will not use Voldemort's name?'

Draco nodded, 'I have been telling you-'

'Yes and I believe you,' the detective interrupted, 'you did not poison the chocolates.'

Draco stared at the man, completely speechless.

The detective smiled and then slowly stood, 'I have taken up enough of your time tonight. I appreciate your taking the time to speak with me.'

Draco nodded still unable to find his voice.

'I will say nothing of the other matter, I give you my word, as long as you keep yours and speak with Mr. Potter.'

Draco nodded again, a small flicker of fear entering his eyes once more at the words.

'Have a good evening, Mr. Malfoy, I will see myself out.'

Draco stood at once and began walking toward the door, 'n-no, I'll escort you,' he said gruffly. No matter how traumatic the circumstances, Draco's manners remained impeccable.

The detective smiled, his handsome face transformed into a thing of exquisite beauty when he did so. He nodded at the Slytherin as he allowed Draco to lead him from the room.

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When the door closed behind the detective Draco sagged against its wooden frame and sighed heavily. He had no idea what he'd just gone through, but it had been much more than a simple questioning session.

He'd faced wizard detectives in the past, but he'd not been at all prepared for what had just occurred. The interview itself had been stressful enough, but on top of that, he was left with an acute sense of impending disaster.

Memories and emotions arose to torment his soul and he urgently began pressing them back into the recesses of his mind. He would have to deal with those demons when he explained things to Harry; things he had intended that no one would ever know.

The detective _was_ gifted; he'd obviously sorted through Draco's soul and uncovered something he'd thought was deeply buried. He trusted the wizard would keep the knowledge to himself; he was just not so certain if he could trust his feelings of trust.

He had a game at noon the next day and had planned to retire early, but that was not possible now. He had to see Harry immediately.

He could simply march up to Harry and declare that their fling was over, but that wouldn't likely solve anything. Any attraction Harry felt for him would not instantly fade merely because he demanded it. In any case, he wasn't particularly ready for their fling to be over just yet and he arrogantly and stubbornly refused to allow himself to be intimidated by fear. Those days were long gone.

He was unsure how Harry would react to his revelation, but he doubted the Gryffindor would want to end their fling on account of it. Harry, if nothing else, was one of the bravest wizards he'd ever met.

Gathering up his courage and his overcoat from the coat rack, he moved quickly through the door, apparating the moment it closed behind him.

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When Draco arrived at the hospital he found it strangely quiet. At least it was strange to him. There seemed to be no one around on the floor Harry was on except a single nurse at the station.

Draco walked to Harry's room without interference, something else he found slightly odd, and knocked on the door.

The moment he knocked however, he felt the surge of a strong ward about the door. That made him feel better for some reason; it was more what he had expected.

A nearby door opened and a healer came bursting into the hallway moving to stand beside Draco.

'Malfoy isn't it?' the healer asked.

'Yes, Draco Malfoy.'

The healer nodded and pointed his wand at Harry's door. A surge of magic was followed by a soft clicking sound and the healer then pulled open the door and stuck his head in.

'Mr. Malfoy to see you,' the healer said.

'Send him in.'

Harry's voice. Draco moved into the room when the healer stepped back and opened the door for him. He felt the wards go up again once he was inside.

Harry's face lit up quite dramatically upon seeing Draco, 'well this is unexpected,' he remarked.

Draco nodded, unable to meet Harry's carefree happiness, 'how are you?'

Harry's smile waned slightly, 'fine, although they insist I remain until all residue of the poison leaves my body. They say it will likely be two or three days.'

'Well that isn't too bad,' Draco said distractedly.

Harry narrowed his eyes at the Slytherin, 'what's wrong?'

Draco's head jerked upward, 'nothing.' He looked around then, 'everyone has left you for the night?'

'Well I've had visitors all day; the Weasleys, Ron, Blaise and, well it seems like everyone I know wanted to drop by and ensure themselves I wasn't dying. And of course there was the press, but the hospital has been good about keeping them at bay.'

The last wrenched a small smile from Draco. If one thing hadn't changed in the wizard world, it was the zealousness of wizard reporters.

'Sirius and Remus were here a moment ago,' Harry continued, 'but the detective came and asked to speak to them, so they went out for a bit. They will return after passing by the pit to get some clothes and other stuff I requested from home.'

Draco felt a wave of nerves pass through his body, but quickly reassured himself that he trusted the detective not to break his promise and reveal anything to Harry's godfather and Remus Lupin.

Draco took a deep breath, 'well if you are tired, I can come back tomorrow,' he said, his voice a little uncertain.

'Sit down,' Harry directed, smiling.

Draco removed his overcoat and moved quickly to sit in one of the chairs near Harry's bed, resting his coat on another chair.

'You seem a little…troubled,' Harry's tone held concern, 'everything alright?'

Draco smiled weakly, 'yes, I'm fine…that is, I…I just finished having an interview with the detective your godfather hired.'

Harry's face relaxed and his eyes filled with understanding, 'Nicolas. He can come across rather…heavy at times. He is a French Warlock; he is from a well respected and noble family and according to Remus, centaur and vampire blood run through his veins-'

Harry paused noting that Draco's expression had become slightly horrified and he quickly began speaking again, his tone carrying a bit of edge. 'The Benet family is an ancient line, his forefathers have been greatly respected for hundreds of years for the unique gifts their bloodline affords them as wizards. Things have always been looked at slightly differently in France with regard to bloodlines.'

Draco's eyes widened slightly, 'He is a Benet? I have heard of his family line.' Draco frowned, 'they have always been held in high regard here as well, but I hadn't realized that…I didn't know about their lineage.'

Harry nodded, 'well it could be that the family didn't advertise their lineage here in England considering how prejudice everyone was before the war,' Harry frowned a little at Draco, 'and perhaps some still are.'

Draco quickly met Harry's eyes, 'I didn't mean to imply…that is, I was just surprised, that's all.'

Harry nodded, 'well I only spoke about his lineage to explain a bit about his gifts; he can apparently be very persuasive when he wants to be. I suppose it is a good thing considering his chosen profession, but I imagine it can make for a rather trying interview.'

Draco nodded slowly in agreement, 'where did Sirius meet that man?'

'Actually Remus met him…it was during the time when Sirius returned to us.'

'Oh,' Draco remarked; he wouldn't put it past the man's abilities to bring someone back from the dead. However, the details of Sirius' return from the veil were a mystery to Draco, as they were to most of the wizard world and Harry didn't seem inclined to reveal more. Draco didn't press the matter. That was the least of his worries at the moment.

'Nicolas does wizard detective work for Ministries all over the world,' Harry continued, 'he is well respected everywhere. Our own Ministry has approved Sirius' decision to hire him to look into the poisoned chocolate; I guess they've got their noses in it because I am involved.'

Draco nodded and then dropped his eyes from the Gryffindor and contemplated his lap; it wasn't very often he found himself tongue-tied, but he was at the moment. He had to tell Harry; there was no way out of that now, but he didn't know exactly how to begin.

'What is it, Draco?' Harry pressed lightly, 'did something happen at the interview?'

Draco met his eyes again and Harry noted that they seemed deeply troubled. He also noted that a few small beads of moisture had broken out along the Slytherin's forehead and his own eyes began to reflect worry. This was not the same self-assured Draco that he'd come to know over the last five years.

'I have to tell you something, Harry,' Draco responded in an uncharacteristically soft and quiet tone.

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Nicolas Benet was a very wealthy man. He'd inherited his family's riches and had added to that nearly insurmountable fortune over the years by assisting the wizard world with his skills as a detective.

He generally traveled alone because his companion, a Quidditch player, was generally too busy to accompany him. However, his lover had been able to accompany him to England for this trip. He'd suffered a mild head injury during a game and the team's healer had recommended that he avoid possible trauma to the head for a couple of weeks. As a result, he had been forced by the team's owner to take leave.

Nicolas was happy to have Lucian come along and not merely because he adored having the man he loved near him. Nicolas had been able to immediately set about his business while his lover procured a flat for them and took care of other small details he normally had to handle himself.

Lucian had found rather ordinary lodgings in the heart of the city that belied Nicolas' riches and his own for that matter. Lucian, like all Quidditch players, was quite wealthy in his own right. However, neither liked to flaunt their wealth and their existence was in all ways rather plebian.

Lucian waited in the small flat for Nicolas' return. He sat in the front room reading near the roaring fireplace, but immediately laid his book on the small end table beside him when he heard the door lock clink open.

Nicolas, in all of his beauty, stood at the door looking tired and rather worn out. His lover was on his feet at once.

'Hard day?' Lucian asked, helping Nicolas to remove his grand overcoat and slip out of his robe.

Nicolas smiled wanly, 'somewhat trying, that's all. A spot of tea and I will be right as rain.'

Lucian pulled his wand, conjuring two cups and a steaming porcelain kettle on a tray. He set them on the coffee table and joined his lover on the sofa that sat before it. He leaned in and kissed Nicolas, before allowing him to touch the beverage; something he'd been aching to do since the moment he'd seen him in the arch of the doorway.

Nicolas didn't seem to mind at all; he grabbed Lucian and pulled him tightly toward him, deepening the kiss and leaving his lover breathless when it finished.

Lucian was quite used to it. He picked up the kettle once Nicolas had finally ended the kiss and began pouring the tea.

'You won't believe who is involved in this case,' Nicolas remarked quietly.

'Whom?' his lover asked as he handed Nicolas a cup full of steaming liquid.

'An old friend of yours, Draco Malfoy.'

Their eyes met for a moment and Nicolas watched Lucian throw back his head and laugh; a deep, rolling laugh full of genuine amusement.

'I thought you might get a kick out of that,' Nicolas mused, smiling a little.

His lover's laughter abated and he leaned in to give Nicolas a quick peck on the lips, 'a kick indeed,' he said with irony in his voice, 'what has he done now?'

Nicolas sat back with his steaming cup and watched the handsome man before him pour out another cup of tea for himself. 'Nothing at all,' the detective answered, 'he is quite innocent. I merely met with him to gather a bit of information about my current case.'

Lucian's eyebrows elevated slightly for a moment, displaying any lack of real interest in the matter. He had never been very close to Draco, although they had carried on an affair for a while. 'It's a very small world,' Lucian mused.

'It most certainly is,' Nicolas agreed. Unless he was mistaken, the world was going to get even smaller in the very near future for Draco Malfoy…perhaps even smother him. And he was uncertain that he or anyone else would be able to do a thing about it.


	10. Chapter 10

**To Lay A Dragon**

**All of the delectable characters belong to JK Rowling. **

**Chapter 10**

**A/N: Thank you to everyone who reviewed. Enjoy…**

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Harry sat atop his blanket on the bed, a small frown playing about his features as he waited for Draco to speak.

When Draco said he'd something to tell Harry, the Gryffindor was certain that it had something to do with the Slytherin's earlier interview and that worried him a bit. He prayed Draco was not more involved in the whole poisonous chocolates business than he'd indicated in their previous conversation.

Draco's opening remark didn't help much, 'look Harry, what I am going to tell you is between you and me; if it gets out…well it can't get out, so you cannot tell anyone. And I mean _anyone_, alright?'

Harry nodded, his frown increasing as he watched Draco wipe a bit of moisture from his forehead.

However, Draco's next words took Harry completely by surprise.

'Several years ago I was bitten by a vampire,' the Slytherin remarked in a matter-of-fact tone, his worried frown dissipating.

'A vampire?' Harry questioned, his tone lilting with a bit of incredulity. That was possibly the last thing he had expected to hear.

Draco nodded curtly, then continued in a nonchalant tone, 'I was in Wales visiting a friend who was leaving the country and we'd done a bit of drinking before he departed. I was pretty tight by the time I left him and began walking back to the rooms where I was staying. It was late and one moment I was staring at the road ahead of me and the next I was staring at a bloke.'

Harry cocked a brow, 'the vampire?'

'Right. But he just looked like an ordinary bloke; I was pretty plastered and it was dark so I didn't notice anything distinctive about him at the time. He said something that I didn't catch and I remember looking at him questioningly and waiting for him to repeat what he'd said, but he just stared at me.'

Didn't you find that strange? I mean even plastered-'

'I didn't have time to find it strange or anything else, the next thing I knew I started to feel extremely lightheaded and the bloke grabbed a hold of me. I thought it might be the alcohol and that I had stumbled and he was steadying me. But then I noticed I couldn't seem to pull my eyes from his and I began to feel a strange and unnatural pull; like my soul was being sucked from my body or something.'

Draco paused and sat back in his chair. Harry remained silent; somewhat bemused. It wasn't the Slytherin's unemotional account of the event that left him feeling confused; quite a number of people had been bitten by vampires during the war without suffering any real consequence. But Draco's currently calm exterior during the retelling was at odds with his earlier distress.

'I began feeling frightened then,' Draco continued, 'that was when I noticed how pale he was and his gaunt features and I realized what I was up against. However, my fear didn't have time to fully materialize; vampires, just before they snack on your neck-'

A soft snort shot reflexively from Harry.

Draco paused again and met his eyes.

'Sorry, it's just the way you phrased that…go on.'

Draco smiled wryly, 'yes well, they send waves of power at you and it is very compelling and mesmerizing and then they bite. The worst part is that you want them to do it by the time they start biting you and the pain…well you feel it, but it is almost pleasurable. It…it's difficult to explain…'

'I know what you're referring to,' Harry said, 'I spoke with several people who were bitten during the war.'

Draco nodded, 'well afterward I think I passed out for a while because the next thing I recall, we were sitting on the ground in an alley and he was speaking to me. I was groggy, but I recall him saying that I was his and that he would return for me when the time was right, or if another sought me before then.'

'Classic evil vampire stuff,' opined Harry.

Draco narrowed his eyes a bit, 'yes, but it was odd; he spoke in a completely everyday tone of voice; it wasn't at all menacing. He babbled for a good while, but I was still pretty out of it and I don't recall what else he said.'

'You were probably a bit short on blood at that point; they generally take enough to leave you feeling faint. What happened then?'

'He left and I just sat there for who knows how long, leaning against the alley wall. Eventually I got up and managed to stumble back to my rooms where I promptly passed out again.'

'Merlin,' Harry murmured, 'but he only bit you the one time and it is obvious that you aren't-'

'A vampire? No. As you said, I was only bitten once and according to all of the lore the same vampire must drink twice and even then, he has to want to bring you into their world.'

'Yes, that's what I was told as well.'

Draco nodded, 'the thing is, I read lore from a variety of books, old and new, and all of them contradicted one another. However, most agreed that a vampire will take the second drink at his leisure; that is, it could be days, years or even decades before they attempt it.'

Harry nodded slowly.

'And the other thing most of them agreed on,' Draco continued in a business-like tone, 'was that if someone becomes attracted in an ongoing fashion to the person who was bitten, it might trigger the return of the vampire to claim their subject.'

Harry elevated his brows.

'And it is said that…they kill the competition – the person attracted to the subject.'

'Sweet,' commented Harry.

Draco met Harry's eyes for a moment before looking away again, 'yes, well I pretty much considered all of that hogwash; there have been several people attracted to me since I was bitten and nothing has happened…although their attraction wasn't particularly ongoing.'

Harry grinned, 'and mine is?' he supplied.

Draco flipped his hand out in a noncommittal gesture, 'your detective friend seemed to think so. He somehow figured it out…about me being bitten I mean. He started demanding that your godfather be told because of the possible danger to you, I presume, and I became anxious because the last thing I need is for people to find out about my being bitten. It was bad enough the detective knowing about it.'

'Nicolas is gifted, as I told you.'

'Yes I know, he told me as well, but I didn't realize what gifts he was talking about. I mean at one point during our interview I thought I was facing a vampire…I swear I felt the same pull from the man as I had from the bloke in Wales. Then I began remembering what the bloke had said…all that business about returning…and well in that moment I started thinking it might not be hogwash after all and I became frightened, even though the detective looked nothing like the vampire I'd met.'

'It was likely the centaur and vampire blood running through Nicolas' veins I mentioned earlier. I know that has something to do with his gifts. I'd imagine he carries out all of his interviews the same way and maybe people who have been bitten react as you did. I imagine that could be pretty terrifying.'

Draco nodded, 'yeah, I was fairly apprehensive until he stopped whatever it was he was doing and I realized he didn't have the look of a vampire at all. He did say he knew why I'd reacted as I had, so you are likely right and that is how he knew I'd been bitten.' The Slytherin fell silent for a few moments and then sighed, 'still, his worrying about your being attacked made me consider that there might be some truth to the lore.'

Harry ran a hand through his unruly locks, 'it is likely true if Nicolas feels it is; he knows an awful lot about dark creatures. We can ask him about it.' He narrowed his eyes a bit, 'you don't seem particularly traumatized by it all.'

Draco shrugged, 'well I'm not; at least not by the whole vampire-leaping-out-at-me-at-any-moment aspect of it all.'

Harry grinned, 'well as for the other part of the lore; I am attracted to you, but you don't have to worry on my account, Draco. I can handle vampires; I had to deal with a number of them during the war.'

A humorless gust of mirth fell from Draco's lips and he shook his head, 'I wasn't really very worried about that aspect of it either. In some ways you haven't changed at all.'

Harry's eyes narrowed slightly; that wasn't the response he had been looking for. 'I have no fear of dark creatures, if that is what you mean,' he commented, his tone a little acerbic. Draco, he thought, could have at least admitted to a little attraction as well rather than make it appear as if he were in this all alone. The arrogant git.

Draco nodded, 'I know you don't fear dark creatures.'

Harry frowned a little, 'so what aspect of all of this _is _bothering you? You looked pretty upset earlier…you were perspiring…'

Draco's arrogance seemed to swell at the notion that he might do anything so vulgar as sweat, but a moment later a worried frown reappeared on his brow, 'to my knowledge, you and the detective are the only two people that know I've been bitten and it is imperative that it stay that way.'

'Why is that? Many people were bitten during the war and there is no stigma attached to it that I know of.'

'It's not that; if it gets around that I've been bitten…well…it has to do with the Malfoy fortune.'

'With money?' Harry's voice was slightly incredulous.

'Not just money,' Draco retorted arrogantly, 'the Malfoy family legacy. It is a hell of a lot of money; it has been amassing for decades and I am in control of it. However, that can change if my family finds out I have been bitten; they can use that knowledge to declare me unfit to control the fortune.'

'Why? You are not a vampire.'

True, but my being bitten and in danger of becoming a vampire would likely be enough.

'How would they do that? I mean who would decide whether you are fit or not?'

'The Malfoy family legacy itself decides. The fortune, though passed from father to son, has always come with a codicil; if the current family member controlling the fortune is deemed unfit, any family member may enact magic that will cause the Gringotts accounts and all of the holdings to be turned over to a new family member.'

'It is turned over to the member who enacts the magic?'

'No. The selection of the new member is a part of the magic itself. The magic will only function under specific circumstances that were decided long ago by the founder of the legacy. But you can bet that when the legacy was founded, the possibility of becoming a vampire was at the top of the list of things that would trigger the magic to work.'

'Well it isn't like you need the money; you make a hell of a lot.'

Draco scowled a little, 'you don't understand. Since the fortune fell under my control after the war, I have made a lot of changes. The money was invested in…well rather less than noble causes. But now all of the investments are reputable and I can tell you, there are a number of family members that are none to happy about it.'

'I see.'

'Right, I have no intention of allowing the money to be used for dark purposes any longer. Voldemort is gone, but there have always been, and will always be dark forces and they require financial support, but it won't be with the assistance of the legacy during my lifetime if I can help it.'

Harry nodded with understanding, 'well I won't say anything to anyone and,' Harry's eyes suddenly flashed to meet Draco's, 'did Nicolas say he was going to tell my godfather?'

'No, he promised he would keep it to himself for now as long as I told you.'

'Well then you needn't be concerned. I will talk to Nicolas; he likely only wanted to warn Sirius and Remus because he wanted me to be aware of a possible attack. I am sure he knows that I can deal with vampires, but it is always good to be prepared.'

Draco nodded, still looking a bit stressed.

'Don't worry, we won't let the Malfoy fortune get into the hands of your scheming relatives,' Harry said lightly.

Draco looked up shaking his head a bit, 'we? Just like that, you take on other people's problems – Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays after 8pm?'

'Comes with the title of hero,' Harry responded, amusement in his tone.

'I guess if we both get bitten to death it won't much matter,' Draco grumbled half under his breath.

Harry laughed, 'many can't deal with vampires, but I know exactly how to cope with them, Draco and I will show you. They won't cause us any trouble.'

Draco sighed, but he didn't respond.

After a few long moments of silence, Harry called out softly, 'Draco.'

The Slytherin lifted his eyes quickly to meet the emerald green orbs.

'Come 'ere,' Harry patted the bed beside him.

Draco quirked an eyebrow, but then slowly stood and made his way to the bed, sitting next to Harry.

Harry began regarding Draco's neck, 'where were you bitten?'

Draco sat up a little straighter, his posture rather haughty, 'on the neck.'

Harry chuckled lightly, 'I imagined. Where? I don't see any mark…has it healed?'

Draco sighed, 'it has scarred over.'

'I don't see any scar,' Harry said looking more closely.

'That is another thing about you that hasn't changed, Potter.'

'Umm?' Harry asked vaguely, still regarding the Slytherin's pale skin.

'You are a nosey git.'

Harry sat back a little and began laughing, 'temper, temper,' he sputtered.

Draco reached up to touch the side of his neck near the base, 'it is here, but you can't see it because I have charmed it.'

Harry chuckled again, 'I should have guessed; you are still a vain little wanker.'

Draco smiled smugly, 'it isn't vanity Potts; I'm just that damn good looking. Occasionally I'm walking along and I'll see a very attractive bloke and get the hots for him. Then I realize I am staring at my own reflection.'

Harry burst out laughing and a moment later Draco joined him.

When their laughter died down Draco continued, 'actually if you used your brain material for once it might occur to you that the mark would be a dead giveaway if anyone saw it. I can't have this getting out, as I told you.'

Harry nodded and after a few moments he sighed a little, 'you know, I hate being here in the hospital; I feel absolutely fine.'

Draco glanced up swiftly at the abrupt change of topic, 'well you have to stay until the poison is totally gone from your system I guess.'

Harry nodded, 'I do, but it's rather miserable.'

'Not for much longer though.'

'I was thinking,' Harry said his tone dropping significantly in cadence, 'that you might help me get rid of a bit of the misery.'

Draco grinned and shook his head; the reason for the topic change now evident. 'You are amazing. I tell you all of this and now you want to snog?'

'What should we do? Fucking sit here and shiver awaiting your vampire friend to show up?' Harry's no-nonsense tone had returned.

Draco laughed his eyes half closed, 'I can't believe that at one time I thought getting you into my bed would prove somewhat difficult.'

'I'm easy.'

'You're barmy.'

'Completely barmy,' Harry murmured, pressing two fingers to the Slytherin's cheek and moving them slowly along his jaw.

The soft stroking about his was comforting. Draco felt the tension he'd been feeling start to ease from his body and he tilted his face into the fingers a little.

'And you know what else I think?' Harry said huskily.

'What?'

'I think,' Harry said, allowing his finger to trace Draco's lips, 'that you are a bit more attracted to me than you are letting on.'

Draco's lips curved upward, 'maybe you are confusing us? I had an idea that you might want more out of this than me.'

'I don't think so,' Harry said gruffly, 'I didn't know what I wanted exactly, still don't. But I know I am attracted to you. I have been sitting here bored between visits and I spent a lot of time thinking about it.'

Harry's hand had drifted to his neck and was softly massaging. Draco sighed a little, 'thinking is rarely good.'

'Oh I beg to differ; I have found thinking to be very helpful. For example, earlier today I came to the conclusion that I really enjoyed being with you.'

'Well it was all new for you,' Draco said ruggedly.

'Yes, but I am still enjoying it.'

'Um.'

'And I suppose you aren't attracted to me at all?' Harry spoke softly, but sarcasm swam through his tone nonetheless.

'I didn't say…that,' Draco murmured.

'You don't say much of anything.' Harry said contemplatively, 'I wonder why that might be?'

Harry's hand had moved to the top of Draco's shoulder, and his other joined on the other side, kneading the muscles and loosening the knots beneath them.

'This is vastly unfair,' Draco murmured.

'What?' softly.

'Asking me all of these questions while doing what you're doing.'

Harry chuckled lightly, 'just getting you to own up to the fact that you enjoy all of this as much as I do.'

'Yes, the sex is great.'

'Yes, it is.'

'Well I have never said it wasn't, ooh-' Draco broke off as Harry rubbed a particularly tight spot. 'But that doesn't mean that I want anything beyond sex,' Draco finished. He closed his eyes and twisted his head against the strong hands working his muscles.

'What is beyond sex?'

'What do you think?' Draco whispered, totally enveloped in the massage.

'More sex?' Harry asked, his tone gruff and full of innuendo. His leaned forward after uttering the words and captured Draco's lips in an open mouthed kiss.

Draco's chuckle was swallowed up by the Gryffindor's mouth as his lips parted in acceptance. He began tasting the delicious flavor of Harry's mouth; it was slightly sweet as if he'd been eating candy. That scent was again filling his nostrils, a scent that was all Harry. Warm hands were cupping his face and he began feeling a pull on his soul for the second time that evening.

Only this pull was gentle and asked permission. Permission was granted.

Harry groaned and pressed forward, directing the kiss like a seasoned conductor and leaving Draco gasping at the air they were sharing.

Draco reached out and ran his fingers along Harry's arms and the Gryffindor shivered lightly under his touch. He had forgotten the tremendous affect his fingers always seemed to generate and the memories further incited his fervor. His hands moved down to grapple with Harry's shirt, lifting it until his fingers accessed the smooth skin beneath.

Harry moaned into Draco's mouth at the touch, arching against the warm hands moving over his back. His suddenly fevered imagination began picturing every flicker of those long, elegant fingers causing small prickles of heat to leach along his sensitive skin. The hungry desire to devour that crawled through him whenever this particular human was near had returned, converting him into a carnal creature. His hands, still gripping the Slytherin's shoulders, tightened and he began leaning backward, pulling them downward.

Draco resisted and edged his lips away, 'your godfather,' he murmured into Harry's cheek.

'I've no desire to kiss him,' Harry whispered attempting to pull Draco down again.

'They are returning you said,' Draco managed.

'They can't come in, until I say they can.'

'I've got a game tomorrow…' Draco mumbled as he gave in to Harry's gentle tugging and found himself lying half on top of the Gryffindor, their bodies gyrating together and their mouths meeting once again in a heated kiss.

The Slytherin shifted his body and his hand began slithering downward between them and wandered about Harry's loose pajama bottoms until it uncovered the hardness it sought.

Harry gasped at the feel of that _hand _touching him just _there_ and moved to return the favor, sliding his own hand downward. He edged his fingers along the rough material of Draco's jeans and cupped his palm around the heated groin of the not-so-very-attracted-to-him Slytherin who began gasping his name against Harry's lips as if he were his personal savior and using his free hand to grip the Gryffindor's unruly locks in the heat of emotion.

A button, a zipper and a bit of elastic were minor obstructions to be conquered and within seconds their hands were moving freely in an almost synchronized rhythm; giving and receiving pleasure and causing the bed to shake rather ferociously.

They were in fact making quite a racket, but neither seemed to care and Harry didn't even attempt to keep his voice to minimum levels when Draco suddenly began increasing the pace with that beautiful _hand._

'Damn Draco, that feels so bloody good,' was Harry's opinion about that.

Draco grunted in agreement as Harry met his swiftness of motion and he felt himself climbing toward the familiar peak of satiation.

The words he would have uttered were lost on hot dancing tongues as their mouths crashed together while they rode out their passion.

Groans and gasps together with the merciless creak of the hospital bed controlled the ambiance and became so deafening that the healer in charge, silenced the listening wards, shaken with lust from the wanton sounds being emitted from Harry's sickbed.

But the lovers were oblivious. Harry and Draco lay in the decadent aftermath of their heated activity, nursing bruised lips and panting a little, but completely sated. Draco leaned in and began planting small kisses near Harry's ear.

'Not very attracted,' Draco murmured breathlessly.

They both chuckled softly and Harry slid an arm around Draco in a loose embrace, his hand moving softly along the thin shirt his lover still wore. It was the hand that had just captured the Slytherin's excitement and the moisture seeped through the light material.

Draco grimaced.

Harry chuckled again.

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Sirius and Remus were putting the things they had gathered for Harry into a small valise. They had spoken with Nicolas Benet and he had assured them that Draco had not poisoned the Chocolates. Nicolas also told them that he had found Snape to be a rather tough suspect to question and that he would have to meet with the man a second time before reaching any conclusions.

Sirius assured Nicolas that Snape was guilty as hell and that they should just kill him rather than bothering with more interviews.

Nicolas had chuckled and promised to get back with them shortly with more information.

Sirius and Remus had rushed to the pit after speaking with him, wanting to get Harry's things and get back to the hospital to visit for a short while before coming back home.

'I am glad that Nicolas determined Draco is not involved in all of this,' Remus mused as he packed.

'Harry would have been pretty devastated I think. Did you notice that he brought him up in conversations a few times during the day?'

'Did I notice? Of course, and it wasn't a few. He managed to find a reason to talk about Draco with nearly everyone who showed up.'

Sirius nodded, 'I suppose he thought he was being inconspicuous about it, always speaking in terms of Quidditch and such.'

'I noticed that too, except when that Zabini boy, what was his name?'

'Blaise.'

'Yes, Blaise. When he called Draco a prat, Harry went into that nice little rant about how Draco had probably saved his life getting him to the hospital and all.'

'Well that was likely true.'

'I know that and I am very grateful to the lad,' Remus said, smiling, 'but I am speaking of the manner in which Harry went about defending him. He looked as if he might curse Blaise if he said another word against Draco.'

Sirius laughed, 'yeah, and then when Blaise left he promptly told us that his affair with Draco was just a casual thing.'

Remus joined in his laughter, 'he is just not ready to admit to us how attracted he is.'

Sirius nodded, 'not really like Harry though. He is generally straight forward; has been for years.'

'Well he hasn't fallen in love before and I don't think he knows how Draco feels either. He probably just doesn't want us to think he is getting in over his head, but I imagine he would be more straight forward with Draco about it all.'

Sirius narrowed his eyes, 'who said anything about love?'

'He is falling in love, I can tell.'

Sirius narrowed his eyes, 'that little Malfoy lad had better not cause Harry any pain or he will have to deal with me.'

Remus looked up and his deep, masculine laughter rang out, 'that is exactly why Harry isn't straight forward.'

Sirius had the grace to smile wryly and nod.

Remus tossed the last of the shirts into the suitcase and then moved to hug his boyfriend, 'you remember how reluctant we were when we were younger. Neither of us wanted to show our feelings for one another either.' He shook his head a little, 'all of that time wasted.'

'Well that was different. We weren't shagging.'

'We could have been.'

Sirius' warm smile appeared, 'yes we could have been, but I think we have managed to make up for lost time.'

'And more.'

Sirius' eyes grew a bit intense as he stared down into Remus' eyes. Remus looked younger than his age these days what with his scars having all but faded away thanks to a new potion, and much of the graying gone from his hair. Sirius was keenly reminded of the boy he'd known so many years before, only stronger and healthier…so distinct from the wreck of a man who'd been at his side fighting when he'd fallen through the veil. He too had been a bit of a mess back then; he had a lot to be thankful for and so happy that he hadn't missed this…

'I am so glad I wasn't shuffled off into the after-world,' Sirius murmured, his voice low and sexy.

'Me too,' Remus agreed smiling lightly, 'although when I believed you to be there, I was laying plans to shag you silly once I arrived.'

Sirius gave a bark of laughter, 'that would have been a very long wait,' his tone grew husky, 'this is much better.'

'This is perfect,' Remus agreed and found his mate's lips.

Their kiss turned frantic as was customary, but Remus managed to break away after a few long moments, 'we have to go back to the hospital; Harry is waiting.'

'I am thinking that Harry won't mind waiting an extra ten minutes.' 'He (_kiss_) is (_kiss_) a (_kiss_) real trooper.' The final kiss turned into something quite dangerous.

Remus found himself agreeing that Harry was indeed a trooper and ten minutes was really not very long at all.

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Despite the advanced hour, Nicolas Benet had returned to Azkaban. He advised the Aurors that he wanted to interview some of the other prisoners located in Snape's prison block and that he wished to conduct one that very evening.

There were six prisoners in the block, one of whom was Lucius Malfoy and he asked to see him first.

Lucius had been in prison for over ten years and his concurrent sentences meant he would spend another twenty years vacationing in Azkaban. He was a bitter man and prone to fits of dementia, but some of the latter had been tempered; first when the Dementors had been ousted shortly after his arrival and later when his wife had joined him.

Lucius looked at the detective with utter disgust when he was brought into the visitor's room and seated before him.

'Lucius Malfoy, I am Nicolas Benet,' Nicolas said pleasantly.

Lucius narrowed his eyes at the man, 'Benet,' he repeated sourly.

Nicolas nodded, 'I merely wanted to ask you a couple of questions.'

'How can you disgrace yourself as a wizard detective? Your family must be humiliated by your shameful conduct.'

'I'm sorry?' Nicolas looked at Lucius with an expression that was a mixture of sarcasm and question.

'I know of your family line. Certainly even purebloods in France look askance upon one of its members drudging around dungeons and prisons, digging in muck for clues and mingling with common thieves.'

Nicolas smiled, 'but as you can see, Mr. Malfoy, I often deal with purebloods like yourself when they have landed themselves in a…prison, a dungeon or muck.'

Lucius scowled, 'I shouldn't be here.'

'Falsely charged where you?'

'The Ministry has no idea what they are doing, or what they are up against for that matter.'

'Ah,' Nicolas mused, 'Voldemort planning another come back then?' Nicolas asked brightly.

Lucius flinched, 'you dare speak the master's name!'

'I dare, Mr. Malfoy, I dare.'

Lucius bristled for a moment then he abruptly broke out in maniacal laughter, 'you will all suffer at his hands. You are as big a fool as the rest of them.'

'Be that as it may, I am not here to talk about your dead master, but rather-'

'He is not dead,' Lucius cut him off, 'he is lying in wait for the right time, just as he did before and just as he will do every time he temporarily goes underground.'

Nicolas nodded his head in agreement. There was no point in arguing with the man. He clearly refused to accept the plain truth.

'The reason I have come is to ask if you have had any association whatsoever with Severus Snape since his arrival here at Azkaban.'

A deep rumble escaped Lucius' throat, 'if I so much as see that traitor again, I'll kill him with my bare hands,' he spat, 'the Aurors won't even allow us in the passageway together; they know better.'

'So the two of you are no longer friends then, I take it?'

Lucius' eyes filled with wrath, 'friends with that half-blood, foul, piece of waste? He too will die, if not by my hands then by the master's when he returns. One doesn't-'

Nicolas cut in smoothly, breaking off what was clearly going to be a long diatribe on the woes of defying the non-existent dark lord. 'I understand. Tell me Mr. Malfoy,' Nicolas said slowly, his tone hypnotic, 'are you comfortable here?'

Lucius opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. His eyes rounded and he found himself becoming lost in the detective's eyes. Something deep in his soul sent a warning to his brain, but it was lost in the heavenly waves that seemed to be swelling about his consciousness.

Nicolas continued exuding power toward Malfoy until he felt the man come under his power; he encountered none of the resistance he'd had from Snape and Draco. Azkaban had clearly weakened the man to some degree. The detective began speaking softly, 'have you practiced any magic whatsoever since you arrived at Azkaban?'

'No,' Lucius murmured, clearly entranced.

'Why won't you visit with your son?'

'He's not my son. He is a traitor.'

'Your blood runs through his veins.'

'He belongs to another now!' Lucius spat out the words, haltingly.

Nicolas narrowed his eyes, 'why do you say that?'

Lucius laughed, but the sound was hallow and barely audible; the waves about him were inhibiting his free will.

'Why did you say that Draco belongs to another, Mr. Malfoy?'

'Because I ensured he'd be taken. If he wants to be a traitor, he can live among the dark creatures. That is his due…that is what he deserves.'

'You arranged for him to be taken?'

Lucius laughed again, 'I arrange everything; some are still loyal. No one defies me…and…gets…away…with…'

Lucius' head collapsed onto the table and his eyes snapped shut.

Nicolas closed his eyes a moment and allowed his body to relax and then opened them once more to gaze at the man before him who was just regaining consciousness.

A few moments later Lucius raised his head and shook it harshly. He stared at the man before him, his eyes filled with hatred, 'what do you want?'

'Nothing, Mr. Malfoy. I don't believe you will be able to help me,' Nicolas said quietly.

'You brought me here merely to ask me about Snape?' Lucius sounded livid.

Nicolas stood, 'yes. Thank you for your time.'

Nicolas turned and quickly left the room, ignoring the muttering of Malfoy behind him. Lucius wouldn't recall what he'd revealed concerning his son – the detective was practiced enough to know how his skills worked. But the information had left him astounded.

How could a man hate his own flesh and blood so much that he would arrange to have his soul taken by vampires? The man was truly crazy and though he'd not had anything to do with the poison, Nicolas had ascertained that, the interview had not been a total loss.

He had to speak with Draco Malfoy; this put a new spin on the situation and he might just be able to assist the young lad after all. At least with a portion of his prospective troubles.

Nicolas was escorted to the Auror's offices where he asked to see the records of all of those who had visited Malfoy during the last five years. The list was far shorter than he had imagined and his eyes were shining with triumph when he finally returned the list to the Aurors.


	11. Chapter 11

**To Lay A Dragon**

**All of the delectable characters belong to JK Rowling. **

**Chapter 11**

**A/N: Thank you to everyone who reviewed. Enjoy…**

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The healer burst into Harry's room and the four occupants present jumped in their seats. Harry and Ron were seated on a couch and Remus and Sirius sat on chairs in front of the Magical Screen in the room, watching the Slayer-Dragon game.

'It sounds as if there is a riot going on in here,' the disgruntled healer snapped.

'No need to be nasty about it, we'll cast a Silencing Spell,' Sirius said grumpily.

'That won't be necessary; I am putting up a silencing ward,' the healer responded in an evil tone, 'I doubt any thing less would keep the racket you having going on in here from the ears of anyone on the continent.'

'Well get on with it then and go,' Sirius said nastily.

Harry caught his godfather's eye and laughed under his breath.

Sirius grinned and then shrugged.

The healer continued to mumble derisive remarks in between spells as he evoked the wards, just loud enough for the foursome to hear.

'Can you keep it down?' Remus asked the healer to the amusement of the game watching bunch.

The healer opened his mouth to retort, but Remus sent a quick wand-less silencing charm at the man and his voice went unheard.

The four broke into peals of laughter at the sight of the angry healers antics, but then their heads flew back around to the screen when the crowd began to roar. They became captivated once more, ignoring the healer who finished his work and stormed from the room.

Cho Chang was substituting for Harry as seeker for the Dragons and had played well so far against the skilled maneuvers of Draco Malfoy. The game had been going on for three hours and the score was tied. The magic projectors had just switched to show the two seekers who were once again after the elusive snitch. Catching it would of course spell the end to the game and proclaim the team of the seeker who caught it the winner.

All present were pulling for the Dragons and cheering Cho on, as she did her best to keep up with Draco. The snitch they were after took a sudden dive and veered to the left, giving Cho the sudden advantage. The hospital room noise level increased immensely as the seeker zipped suddenly sideways, the snitch right before her; everyone in the room was shouting advice or instructions to Cho.

Draco was taken off guard by the snitch's abrupt shift in direction, but he was quick and within seconds he was flying almost level with Cho behind the golden-winged ball. Cho stretched forward, reaching for the snitch and Draco's hand was just centimeters behind hers.

'Come on, Chang,' Ron yelled loudly.

'It's hers for the taking!' Remus said hotly beside him.

'Snag it!' Sirius demanded of the screen.

'You've got it,' Harry cried, his hand focused on Cho's stretched fingers. He felt almost as if they were his own, his body leaning forward as he silently urged her to surge and grab it.

Cho did surge and her hand began to close over the snitch when suddenly Draco flipped around on his broom and zipped underneath of her. Startled, Cho's hand snapped out of it's claw-like form over the snitch and she grabbed her broom, pulling upward to avoid being hit by Draco. Draco flipped again while she did so and grabbed the snitch in the next second. Without pause, the Slytherin quickly descended to the furious roar of the crowd. The camera followed him and in split screen action showed an angry Cho, still trying to resituate her broom and descend behind him.

'Damn!' Harry spat.

Remus shook his head, 'that was a bloody disaster; she had it.'

'She could have eaten the bloody snitch she was so close, why the hell did she pull up?' Sirius said testily.

'Blimey,' Ron said scathingly, 'she should have seen that coming; Draco always pulls that move. If she had just stayed with it instead of bucking like a scared cat.'

The four sat in silence for a few seconds, bemoaning the loss, but all heads turned abruptly to face Harry when he spoke.

'Well you have to admit, Draco's move was pretty wicked!' he declared.

Harry immediately found himself receiving dirty looks from three pairs of eyes.

'Well it was!' he defended.

'Wicked?' Sirius blurted at Harry his tone indicating his disbelief that Harry could utter such disloyal words.

'More like dreadful,' commented Remus wryly.

Ron shook his head, 'yeah, your team just lost to that _wicked _play, mate!' he said vehemently.

They were all still staring and Harry shrugged, 'I figured they'd lose without me.'

There was a general uproar as they began good-naturedly pegging Harry for his remarks. In truth, he was as upset at the loss as the next bloke. While Harry was always one to recognize a good play, that generally did not include those made against his team if they lost…at least not until many moons had passed.

However, no one in the room, including Harry, had any doubt that his quick judgment on this occasion was due to the fact that the player making the great play was also pretty 'wicked' in Harry's opinion.

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Nicolas Benet arrived at Azkaban at first light. He was determined to make it through the rest of Snape's prison block cell mates quickly and then interview the ex-potions professor.

The Aurors advised Nicolas that they had confiscated boxes chocolates from Crabbe and Goyle which the lad's had received from Draco upon the news that those given to Snape had been poisonous. The tests, they declared, revealed that only the box given to Snape had been infused with poison.

The poison, they informed him, was an odd and rare substance, one not normally used for poison at all and one in fact, that was used only by potions masters in the wizard world. It was a gelatinous substance that could be used to hold objects in balance; something used when one wanted to keep small items naturally suspended in a container. However, the substance was not something that was ever used at Azkaban and the Auror's had no idea how it had been smuggled into the facility.

Nicolas asked to visit the lad's in their cells rather than in the visiting room and he was led first to Crabbe and then to Goyle. Both boys vehemently denied having any contact with Severus Snape other than to greet him when they passed his cell.

Nicolas immediately spoke with the records Auror to verify what the lads had said and determined they had not been telling the truth. He found a report by an Auror who had been in charge of the lads during the time when a rather large fracas had occurred near their prison block. That had been on the very day that Snape had given the chocolates to Ginny and the report indicated that the Auror had abandoned the lads to identify the cause of the uproar. The report also indicated that the lads had earlier been pestering Snape about his chocolates.

Nicolas spoke with the Auror and confirmed that some of the cell doors had been left open when the Auror's left the hall to pursue the cause of the fracas, but he was unsure if Snape's cell was one of them. He clearly recalled seeing Snape in the room where the fracas was occurring and agreed that if Snape's cell had remained open, it was possible that the lads had accessed the chocolate while the Aurors were otherwise entertained.

Nicolas decided to do a bit more investigation prior to confronting the lads again and moved to a cell at the end of the passage housing an older woman. He had been informed that she was Mrs. Galina Pettigrew and that she had been on her way to the library in the company of an Auror on the day of the fracas.

The woman sat on the only chair in her cell and after being introduced by an Auror, Nicolas moved to sit on her bed. However, it was covered by a delicate lace mantle and he thought it might upset her if he sat upon it, so he refrained from sitting altogether.

Nicolas stood before her, 'there was a bit of a fracas in the cell passageway not too long ago, do you recall?' the detective asked.

Mrs. Pettigrew nodded, 'yes, as a matter of fact, I was on my way to the library when I suddenly heard a woman screaming. I moved toward the door at the end of the passage way from where it originated, but I never made it to actually see the woman. Before I arrived, those two youngsters, Crabbe and Goyle, came running out of Snape's cell nearly knocking me over and leaving my ankle feeling sore.'

Nicolas' eyes widened in surprise, 'Crabbe and Goyle were in Snape's cell?'

'Yes,' she affirmed, 'I saw them in the cell just before they sprinted out,' she said, her voice somewhat miffed, 'as I said, they nearly knocked me down in their rush to leave the cell. I imagine because they had no business being in there.'

'Did you see what they had been doing in the cell prior to running out?' Nicolas asked.

'No. However, they had been standing near the back of the cell by the desk,' she ventured.

Nicolas frowned and began walking about her cell looking at an odd assortment of small items she had on her desk. 'You collect all of these things?' he asked gently.

'Well two young men, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin have given me several small gifts over the years. I knew them when they were younger you see, they were friends with my son before his death. They visit from time to time.'

Nicolas turned and smiled warmly at Mrs. Pettigrew, 'that is nice for you.'

Mrs. Pettigrew sighed, 'yes, I have no one left you see. However, their visits are very nice and I have managed to make some friends here.'

'I see. Tell me, Mrs. Pettigrew, have you had any association with Severus Snape since you arrived?'

'Mr. Snape? No, he is quite the recluse. I do see him from time to time in the library; he is as fond of books as am I. Occasionally we have spoken about a particular book for a few moments in the library, but as I say, he does not really associate with anyone here, a very introverted young man.'

'So I have ascertained,' Nicolas said a little wearily, 'so after Crabbe and Goyle ran from the cell, did you see where they went?'

'Yes, they ran back to their cells and I admonished them to be careful.'

Nicolas smiled, 'I don't imagine they are intelligent enough to take your advice, but at least you were not harmed.'

'No, but those boys are really quite a nuisance. One of these days they are likely to hurt someone with their carelessness.'

Nicolas nodded in agreement as he walked toward the cell door. He turned just before he left, 'thank you very much.'

She smiled, 'you are welcome; I wish I could be more helpful. If I can be of further assistance, don't hesitate to come by.'

'Oh you have been very helpful and I appreciate it.' Nicolas said as he left the cell.

Nicolas moved with narrowed eyes he headed back to the cells of Crabbe and Goyle; it was time to employ his gifts.

Nicolas confronted Crabbe and Goyle again, but this time entrancing the lads when he spoke with them and he was gratified that he received no resistance whatsoever. He easily obtained a confession from both that they had switched the chocolates in Snape's cell and eaten two of the chocolates from the ex-professor's box.

The lads insisted that they had not become ill from eating Snape's chocolates and both were adamant, even entranced, that they had not placed poison on the chocolates in Snape's cell. Nicolas knew his gifts were not foolproof, but he was inclined to believe them.

Crabbe was especially easily entranced and he gave Nicolas a little extra bit of information when he was busily giving reasons for nicking Snape's candy in trade for his own.

'You see,' Crabbe said, 'the food here is alright, but nothing special and no candy. I love candy so of course I wanted to try Snape's out.'

Nicolas was again walking about as he had in Mrs. Pettigrew's cell, but this time because Crabbe's prison mantel was stained with chocolate. 'Tell me Mr. Crabbe, have you received many gifts of chocolate from Draco Malfoy?'

'Yes,' Crabbe said brightly, but still in the sing-song voice of one under a spell, 'he brings both me and Vincent candy every time he visits, once a month. It is always the same chocolate and it is very good, but we have never gotten anything so brilliant as what he gave to Snape.' Crabbe frowned, 'I suppose it is because he had neglected Snape for so long; it was the first time he'd ever given any chocolates to Snape you see.'

'And how would you know that?'

'We know all of the sweets that move through our cell block. We pay attention, we trade, beg or even steal it if we have to.'

Nicolas shook his head lightly and then closed his eyes, losing his connection with the lad.

Crabbe snapped to; looking at Nicolas with confusion written across his features, 'so what is it you wanted Mr. Detective?'

Nicolas smiled lightly, 'nothing Mr. Crabbe, I merely was checking to see if everything was alright after our earlier interview.'

Crabbe's cheeks reddened, 'yes, well…I am…er….fine. I told you all I know. Never had any contact with professor Snape other than a passing hello.'

'Very well,' Nicolas accepted the lie graciously.

'Say, you don't have any sweets do you?' Crabbe asked hopefully.

'No I am afraid I don't,' Nicolas said as he turned to go.

'Too bad,' Crabbe mumbled.

'Yes, it is a pity,' commiserated Nicolas as he left.

Nicolas left the lad's cell and headed back to the Auror's offices. He asked to speak to Snape once more and shortly thereafter found Snape awaiting him in the visitor's room.

'Ah, the return of the mad hypnotist,' Snape said snidely upon Nicolas' entrance, 'come to attempt more of your intriguing yet ineffectual spellbinding antics?'

Nicolas smiled and lowered his head, 'I have met few people with as much resistance to my gifts as you have shown Mr. Snape. I know when to throw up my hands in defeat.'

Snape smirked, his dark eyes boring into the detective.

'I was hoping you would simply be willing to answer a few questions without the need of outside…influence or…potions.'

Snape's brows lifted slightly, 'I am more than adept at resisting Veritaserum.'

'I figured as much; however, there are other ways. Nonetheless, I am not interested in resorting to force.'

'What is it you want, Detective?' Snape asked nastily.

'You have assured me that you did not poison the chocolates that you gave to Miss Weasley and you have indicated that you gave them to her in thanks for bringing you certain reading materials.'

Snape's expression was a mixture of boredom and exasperation, 'yes, I told you those things. Is there some reason you are repeating them to me? Did you not make note of them or have you merely run out of things to ask?'

Nicolas smiled, 'the reading materials were checked by the Aurors and according to them they were rather unimportant information regarding various potions.'

'Quite.'

'I was wondering if you would allow me to see the documents?'

Snape scowled, 'I couldn't care less; you may see them any time you like.'

'That's fine then. You have indicated that the relationship between you and Miss Weasley is platonic; however, it is somewhat odd for a visitor to come nearly every other day to visit a prisoner in Azkaban. It is an anomaly really; no one has visited as much as she.'

'She is very interested in potions. I give her information in exchange for the documents I request.'

'So it is nothing more than an amiable even exchange of information.'

'Precisely. Perhaps you should look at the meetings yourself. I believe the Aurors keep pensive records of such things. Our meetings are for an exchange of materials; nothing more, nothing less.'

'And yet, the Aurors have indicated that the documents are all very mundane; nothing out of the ordinary really.'

Snape narrowed his eyes at the detective, 'that is because they have no notion of potions.'

'So in reality, they are possibly full of more potent information than the Auror's realize?'

Snape sighed as if he were dealing with a not-too-bright child, 'they are non-descript in and of themselves. But perhaps you do not realize I am a potions master? I have never ceased to work since my incarceration began and while I can only propose theories, I am able to use the information to further them.'

'I see. Is Miss Weasley perhaps testing these theories for you in a practical sense?'

Snape scoffed, 'she is not adept enough to do so, even if I had worked them out fully which I have not.'

Nicolas lifted his brows, 'in that case, why did you find it necessary to give her chocolates? You didn't owe her anything; that is, she was doing something for you and you were doing something for her, it was all quite even.'

Snape's expression collapsed into anger, but his voice remained steely and his tone low, 'it was something she did not have to do and she did so for a very long time. As you mentioned, not many people would even consider doing such a thing and I merely wished to show my appreciation.'

'Um,' Nicolas said thoughtfully, 'you have never been known as a man who bothers showing appreciation.'

'Very few deserve it.'

'I see,' Nicolas said slowly, 'so you don't harbor any, let us say, tender feelings for Miss Weasley?'

Snape merely stared at Nicolas with an evil visage.

'Is that a no?' Nicolas asked wearily.

'I am twice the child's age; I may be many things, but a pedophile is not among them.'

Nicolas nodded curtly, 'then we can rule out your poisoning her because she did not return your regard.'

'If that is the most realistic possibility you have come up with in your efforts to discover who poisoned the chocolates, you should be removed from the case. If I were you, I would speak with the Potter brat. He more than likely poisoned the chocolate himself; he's always been suicidal, running off at every turn trying to get himself killed.'

'Harry Potter's efforts in removing us of Voldemort can hardly be described as suicidal.'

Snape shrugged, 'depends on one's point of view I would say.'

'In any case, all of the chocolates contained the poison, not just the one Mr. Potter ate.'

Snape scowled, 'well that is a mystery for you to solve.' His face suddenly crumbled into a look of utter distaste, 'it is also very possible that his scum of a godfather poisoned the chocolates or that nasty wolf he is so terribly fond of.'

Nicolas sighed and sat back in his chair, 'now why would Sirius or Remus wish to poison the chocolates?'

Snape sneered, 'they think nothing of carrying out little pranks to the extent of murder. They tried to murder me before when I was just sixteen years old. I wouldn't put it past them to try again; it would give them nothing but pleasure if I were to die at their hands.'

'While I will not deny that, they have no association with Draco Malfoy who delivered the chocolates to you and-' Nicolas paused, staring intently at the professor.

Snape lifted his brows, 'be that as it may, I am sure they could find a way to get at me; it has been their dire wish to see me dead for years. The whole thing was likely an attempt by Black and Lupin to poison me.'

Nicolas blinked at the man a few times and then stood, 'I am one hundred percent certain they would do no such thing,' he said curtly, 'that is all for now Mr. Snape. Thank you for your time.'

Snape arose and turned quickly to leave the room. 'A one-eyed boggart could do a better job at playing detective,' he mumbled over his shoulder as he left the room.

Nicolas stood at the door a moment and stared at the door Snape had just passed through. The amber in his eyes began to glisten and his lips twitched slightly. After a few moments he went to the Auror's offices and requested another set of records. He reviewed them carefully and when he finished the detective sat back with a satisfied smile on his face.

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Harry was ecstatic; his healer had informed him that he would be able to leave the hospital the next day. The poison had finally left his system and the healer had arranged for his discharge upon receiving a final set of tests in the early hours.

He was a little too buoyant when his team came by after the game to visit, bemoaning their loss, blaming Cho Chang and begging Harry to never let his defenses down in the future and allow something as mundane as poisoned candy keep him from subsequent games.

Sirius had declared that he was going to arrange a little get together at the pit to celebrate Harry's release the next evening. He invited all of Harry's teammates and told them to invite others as well. Remus decided they should invite a few others as well who had come by and shown concern for Harry and declared he'd ensure they received notice.

Harry was happy at the thought and when his teammates and Ron had departed and his godfather left the room to procure tea for them, he cornered Remus and asked about the 'others' he planned to invite.

'Well,' said Remus slowly, his eyes aimed at the ceiling as he thought, 'I was going to ask the Weasley family, Nymphadora, Luna and Neville.

Harry nodded his brows creased downward, 'well maybe we can ask some of the players from the other teams too, you know, some of them are my friends as well.'

Remus poked his tongue in his cheek to keep from smiling, 'I figured Ron and the rest of your teammates would do that. Was there anyone in particular you wanted me to invite?'

Harry didn't meet Remus' eyes, 'no…maybe, you know, some of the Slayer players.'

'But won't that be a bit of a mess? They just beat your team today. I don't know if your teammates would be so happy to see them.'

Harry looked up, 'oh no, it is not like that. We all get along fine when there is no game on. But some of the players might still have rather hostile feelings, you know, they might decide to leave them out.'

'Ah, ok. Well I will tell Ron to invite some of the players from the Slayer team as well.'

Harry nodded still frowning a little.

Remus chuckled, 'I'll invite Draco Malfoy also.'

Harry quickly met his eyes and then flushing a little he nodded, 'thanks.'

Remus moved and pulled Harry into a hug, 'I won't mention that blush to Sirius, he'd never let you forget it.'

Harry laughed.

Sirius reentered the room accompanied by Nicolas a few minutes later.

'Look who I found lurking about,' Sirius said jokingly.

Nicolas greeted the others to the general laughter at Sirius' remark and then asked to speak with Harry alone.

Sirius nodded, 'Come along then, Remy, we'll go and get some thing to eat. We can sneak up a dessert for Harry.'

'Sneaking sweets up to someone who has just been poisoned by sweets may not be such a good idea, Siri,' Remus pointed out.

Sirius laughed, 'good point.'

'Well bring me chips or something,' Harry called, 'they have been starving me.'

His guardians laughed and nodded as they left the room.

Nicolas sat down on a chair before Harry, 'has Draco told you about his being bitten?'

'Yes,' Harry nodded.

'Harry,' Nicolas said contemplatively, 'what do you know about vampire lore?'

'I know that they may come back to bite again and cause their victim to become a vampire. Oh and that they may kill whoever is attracted to their victim,'

'Well that is all quite true; it has become less frequent of an occurrence since the war, but it is quite true.'

Harry screwed up his features, 'the bit about killing the person who is attracted? What is that all about? Are they a naturally jealous lot?'

Nicolas chuckled, 'No, merely very possessive. Vampires bring their victims into the world, or as they refer to them, their sons and they do not wish for their sons to have any reason to retain an alliance with the wizard world outside of that of the Vampires.'

'Why?'

'Because Vampires, despite being misconstrued as monstrous creatures that will randomly bite any victim they come across, are actually very intelligent. They chose wisely and are very selective who they will bring into their world. If every son wanted to bring their lover along, whether well equipped to be a vampire or not, they feel it will wreak havoc on their society.'

'Well that explains why they haven't come back to re-bite everyone they bit during the war.'

'Right,' Nicolas agreed, 'they were under the orders of Voldemort to kill, but many did not die and the Vampires did not return for them. The only time I have known them to kill outside of that is when they take the lives of those with an ongoing attraction to their chosen sons.'

'I see,' Harry said slowly, 'well you needn't fear for my safety Nicolas, I have dealt with many vampires in the past. There is no need to speak to my godfather and Remus about this; Draco wants to keep the fact that he was bitten under wraps as much as possible.'

'I know he does, I could feel his distress at the information being revealed. However, I felt it necessary that you be warned against a possible attack.'

'I figured that is why you wanted him to tell me.'

'Yes,' Nicolas continued slowly, 'I now have further concerns.'

Harry elevated his brows.

'I have spoken to Lucius Malfoy. It seems that he was somewhat disheartened by his son's defection from the dark side. It was he who set a vampire on the lad. I have checked the names of all of his visitors since he arrived and I found that a gentleman by the name of Sven Zywilder paid him a visit several years ago. Sven is a vampire.'

'Lucius sent a vampire after Draco?' Harry asked with awe in his tone.

'I am afraid so. A terrible business and I also ascertained during my interview with Draco that there is some family matter of great importance to the lad and he wants to keep all of this quiet. That is why I was willing to allow him to warn you alone; I knew you would be able to handle the situation.'

Harry nodded.

'However, after my discussion with Lucius, the matter became a bit more dangerous. It would seem that Sven plans to attack Draco again and bring him into their world, which would mean a certain attack on your person.'

Harry frowned, 'does this have anything to do with the chocolates?'

Nicolas nodded, 'no, I don't believe it does. It has to do only with your attraction for Draco. You are attracted to him?'

Harry nodded, deciding that they didn't need to discuss the specifics of that, 'do you know when Sven was planning to attack?' he asked quickly.

'No idea, however, I am acquainted with Sven. I plan to pay him a little visit on behalf of Draco. I would like Draco to come with me and verify he is the man who attacked him. I believe I can resolve this.'

Harry nodded slowly, 'so you think you will be able to thwart Lucius' plans?'

'I believe so, it won't be terribly easy, but I think I can. However, Harry, I am going to bring Sirius and Remus into my confidence. I am certain that they will not reveal anything.'

'Do they have to know? I mean I trust them of course, but Draco is very worried…'

'I am going to need their help.'

'Oh. Can't I help you?'

Nicolas smiled, 'well not while you are here and my plan is to take care of this immediately; tonight if possible.'

'Tonight?'

Nicolas nodded, 'I have no idea what the plan is, but the sooner I intercede the better.'

Harry nodded, 'you are planning to take Draco with you this evening?'

'Yes if possible.'

Harry frowned slightly, but Sirius and Remus chose that moment to return and after allowing Sirius to toss a bag of chips to Harry, Nicolas carried them out again for a private conversation.

Harry's frowned deepened. He didn't have to be a part of it all, but he was damned if he wasn't even going to be kept informed as to what was going on. His expression settled into a look of determination that would have made the Marauder's proud. He was most certainly going to find out. He ripped open the bag of chips and ate them hungrily while he waited.

When the men returned Harry immediately began speaking, 'so you are going out tonight to pursue Draco's problem?' he asked looking at Nicolas.

'I still have to contact Draco Malfoy, but I hope to do so,' Nicolas answered. 'I have shared everything with Sirius and Remus-'

'I don't know the ins and outs of his family problem, but keeping something like this from us was madness, Harry,' Sirius interrupted, moving quickly and seating himself next to Harry.

Harry looked at his godfather, 'you know I trust you,' he turned to Remus who had sat on his other side, 'both of you. But Draco is concerned that this information be passed to as few people as possible. It is important to him; he could lose control of his legacy and his family would get a hold of it. He doesn't want it used for dark purposes anymore.'

'Still, I want to know everything when it comes to your safety,' Sirius said worriedly.

Harry smiled, 'haven't I proven that I can take care of myself?'

'That isn't the point, Harry,' Remus interjected.

'I know,' Harry said quickly, 'I guess I became over concerned with Draco's need to keep this secret.'

'Yeah, well, just don't go keeping death threatening secrets from us in the future,' there was nothing light about Sirius' tone.

'I Promise,' Harry said sincerely.

Remus' face relaxed, 'and don't worry, we won't say a word to anyone about Draco's situation.'

'Well except to Rita Skeeter over at the Daily Prophet,' Sirius said brightly, 'I owe her one, but I am sure she won't tell a soul.'

Harry laughed and punched his godfather in the arm, 'She no longer works there. Besides, I think you'd be more likely to tell Snape first.'

Sirius grimaced, dodging the punch best he could, 'I was having such a nice day, why'd you have to go and bring him up?'

Chuckles filled the room.

Harry looked up again, 'you know Nicolas, generally there is a pretty ferocious party thrown by the winning team after a game…Draco may not want to go tonight.'

'Ah, I had forgotten about that; I did know about the game,' Nicolas sighed and move a hand over the back of his neck, 'well perhaps we can set out first thing tomorrow then.'

Harry nodded, 'he's likely tired from the game anyway, so that would be better. Perhaps you should ask him to drop by here on his way to the party and discuss things. That way he won't overdo it at the celebration tonight.'

Sirius, Remus and Nicolas stared at Harry for a moment, their faces rather immobile and then Sirius let go of a great barking laugh and the other two joined in.

'It was just a suggestion,' Harry said arrogantly, but his words were drowned out by the laughter.

Remus pulled Harry's head into a one arm hug and rubbed his unkempt hair with his knuckles, 'that sounded exactly like the silly excuses James used to come up with when he was trying to be inconspicuous about having Lily around.'

Harry peeped up into Remus' eyes and a slow smile spread across his face, 'like father like son?'

They all laughed again.

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Draco was relaxing in his Jacuzzi bath, reminiscing about the game and enjoying a drink when Minigini suddenly popped into the room. Startled, Draco jumped and spilled a good portion of his drink into the bubbling water.

'Minigini, can't you ever give warning of your arrival? You knew I was having a drink!'

Minigini ignored his employer's mild rampage, 'there be a message by owl,' he announced.

Draco looked around and saw that Minigini was holding a towel and a letter. Sighing, he put his drink down and reached for the towel, drying his hands before taking the letter. He pulled it open and read the small cramped writing of Nicolas Benet requesting that he pass by the hospital for a few moments if he would be so kind.

The invitation wasn't altogether to Draco's distaste, although he had no real desire to see the detective today.

'Bring me a scroll and quill, Minigini,' Draco ordered.

'I live to serve ye,' Minigini said with the sarcastic wit he was famous for.

Draco grinned watching the elf turn to do his bidding. Shortly, he returned with the requested items and Draco quickly wrote out a response and handed it to Minigini.

'I s'pose you want this sent out now?'

'No, next year,' Draco remarked dryly, 'of course I want it sent now.'

'Then I'll be goin' out to get it done,' Minigini said brightly.

'Thanks,' Draco said shaking his head and smiling a little.

'No, thank ye needed; twill be the bright spot o' me day,' Minigini responded. Laughter jetted out behind him and Minigini grinned.

Draco arose from the water and quickly dried himself off. He had considered and then rejected the idea of going by the hospital earlier; he had told Harry he would come by after the game…but he'd determined to wait a while before doing so. However, the invitation took care of his arrival showing any overt eagerness on his part in keeping his promise.

When Draco arrived at the hospital and was escorted past the wards and into Harry's room, he was surprised to see that not only Nicolas, but Sirius and Remus were also in the room with Harry. However, after salutations were passed around, Nicolas asked Sirius and Remus to leave them for a few moments and Draco breathed a little easier. He had feared Nicolas had revealed his secret.

'Please have a seat, Mr. Malfoy,' Nicolas said kindly.

Harry instantly scooted aside on the couch he was sitting on, a clear invitation for Draco to join him.

After hesitating a moment in indecision, Draco moved and sat down next to him. 'A couch?' he mumbled in slight surprise as he sat down.

Harry grinned, 'transfigured.'

'Ah.'

Nicolas sat in the chair Sirius had vacated and met Draco's eyes, 'I have some rather disturbing news,' he began.

Draco lifted his brows, 'I can't imagine things could get more disturbing at this stage.'

Nicolas smiled kindly and Harry looked at Draco biting his lip, but the Slytherin's attention was focused on the detective.

'I spoke with your father last evening at Azkaban.'

Draco narrowed his eyes, 'my father?'

Nicolas nodded, 'you see, I felt that he might have been aware of your having given the chocolates to Snape and as your relationship is…'

'We have no relationship,' Draco supplied.

'Yes well, he made it clear that he greatly dislikes Snape and I thought he might have poisoned the chocolates and then tried to implicate you in some way, causing double damage.'

Draco inclined his head in agreement. He was quite certain that his father would like to kill Snape, as would most of the wizard world. Blaming him, he thought, would just be icing on the cake.

'With that in mind,' Nicolas continued, 'I asked him why he would not see you. Your father's response surprised me. He said that you were a traitor, no longer his son and that you belonged to another now.'

'Another?' trepidation began forming in Draco's eyes.

'Yes. He indicated that you now belonged to the dark creatures. However, I correctly interpreted that to mean that he had personally sent the vampire who attacked you.'

'He what?' Draco was flabbergasted. He knew his father held him in great dislike, but this was madness.

Nicolas' expression was sympathetic, 'it was your father that set Sven, the vampire who bit you, to the task. And unless I am mistaken, Sven has every intention of finishing the job.'

Draco was speechless; he stared at the detective as if the man had grown two heads.

'Nonetheless, I believe that I may be able to assist you.'

Draco barely heard the detective's words; his mind could not let go of the treacherous act, 'my father…?'

Nicolas nodded and Harry looked at Draco with sympathy, but Draco's eyes remained glued to the detective.

'It seems…I mean I know he was angry and would not see me, but I never thought he'd…' Draco's voice trailed off and his eyes dropped to contemplate the floor.

'I'm sorry, Draco,' Harry said.

Draco looked up suddenly and met Harry's eyes, 'no, I'm fine; it is something I should have expected. I guess I am just worried that…' He turned to look at Nicolas again, 'did you say you could help?'

'Yes. I am acquainted with Sven and I believe I can…convince him to disregard your father's instructions.'

Draco's eyes grew intense, 'you do?'

'I believe so; of course one can never be certain, but Sven and I…have a…relationship of sorts and I believe he will listen to me.'

Draco nodded, 'well thank god for that at least.' The Slytherin's expression became brooding, 'I suppose my father will let it out eventually…the fact that I was bitten that is. That spells the end of my controlling the fortune.'

'You never know,' Harry said quickly, 'it is altogether possible that he won't say anything. He hasn't until now.'

Draco shook his head, 'once he discovers that his plan is foiled…that is, if we are successful at stopping the vampire, he will make sure the information gets out. Knowing what I know now, it is evident he'll do anything within his power to…make my life as miserable as possible and keep me from controlling the fortune.'

'I fear you may have the right of it,' Nicolas commiserated.

Draco sighed, 'I am most certain I do.'

Nicolas frowned a moment and then spoke quickly in a business like manner, 'there is no need to worry the future; one never knows how things might turn out. For now we need to take care of the more pressing part of all of this. I would like to go first thing tomorrow if you are available and speak with Sven. I would like for you to come as well, just to ensure that it is the same man who attacked you. Do you recall his face?'

Draco nodded again, he would never forget the face that had slowly come into vision that night shortly before sharp teeth had clamped into his neck.

'Good,' Nicolas smiled. 'One other thing, Mr. Malfoy, I have had to bring Remus and Sirius in on this.'

Draco looked stricken, 'but you said-'

'I know,' Nicolas cut in smoothly, 'however, circumstances have changed and I will need their assistance. Believe me; they will not reveal anything about you to anyone.'

Draco sighed heavily, 'I suppose it doesn't matter; with my father having arranged all of this, the entire world will know soon enough anyway.'

Harry squeezed Draco's arm briefly, 'it may yet turn out all right.'

Draco nodded and after a few moments he spoke again, his tone deflating, 'I suppose you are both right. There is little point in worrying about the fortune now…I suppose it is even possible it will fall into the hands of one of my less dark minded relatives.'

'Maybe Sirius,' Harry offered.

Draco's expression was doubtful, 'maybe, but I rather think it would pass to a relative from my father's side of the family.'

'Ah.'

Draco turned to Nicolas, 'I agree, the sooner we take care of the little matter my father arranged, the better.'

'I will go with you,' Harry offered.

'No,' Nicolas said quickly, 'it will be best if he goes alone. I have already asked Remus to join us, I will need him.'

Harry frowned, 'Remus? But why him and not me? I can-'

Nicolas cut him off, 'it has nothing to do with skill Harry, I know how talented you are, but talent won't be required here.'

Harry continued to frown, 'I don't see why I cannot join you.'

'It would just be best, Harry. Trust me on this.'

Harry nodded slowly, 'will you be back tomorrow night for the party?'

Nicolas smiled, 'most certainly. I will have to return very shortly to continue with the poison chocolate case.'

Draco turned to Harry once more, 'what party?'

'The one you are invited to at my home. I am going to be released tomorrow.'

Draco grinned, 'ah, I thought maybe you were throwing a commiseration party for your team.'

'Shut it,' Harry snapped.

Nicolas chuckled and stood, 'I must be going. Mr. Malfoy, I will contact you later tonight.'

Draco nodded and stood, 'thank you for your help detective.'

'Call me Nicolas and I am happy to do it, Mr. Malfoy.'

Draco grinned, 'you can call me Draco of course.'

Nicolas nodded and left the room.

Draco sat again at Harry's side, 'so you are out of here tomorrow, that's good.'

'Not a minute too soon, I am getting jittery despite the fact that people are in and out of here all day.'

Draco grinned, 'could be worse, we could all leave you stranded here alone.'

'Who says that would be worse?' Harry responded smugly.

A smirk replaced Draco's grin, 'you saw the game on the screen I take it?'

'Yeah,' Harry said a little miserably.

Draco chuckled lightly, 'I told you. Cho's tight ass didn't help her play a bit. Did you see the Gwimauld Underrole move? I stole the snitch right from her grasp.'

Harry was glad Draco seemed to be cheering up at bit, but it appeared that it was to be at his expense. He narrowed his eyes, 'I can't believe she fell for that; you have tried that every time we've played in the past. I expect it now, she should have as well.'

Draco inclined his head, 'it was rather nice not having you about.'

'Or you would have lost.'

'I doubt it; I was really on my game today.'

'Naturally; you had little in the way of competition.'

'That is the case whenever I play your team.'

Harry grinned, 'really? So why is it then that you have lost the last three games against us?'

'Because you got lucky, wanker.'

'Including Hogwarts, I have gotten lucky over eleven times with you, to your seven,' Harry pointed out.

'Oh you have kept count? How common of you.'

Harry's grin broadened to a smile, 'fifteen if you count the two times at your house and last night.'

Draco looked up quickly and then threw his head back and laughed, 'pervert.'

'You want me, badly,' Harry added nonchalantly.

'Define badly.'

'Begging me to stay the night, that sort of thing.'

'No that was pity. I pity you.'

'Is that what you call it? I call it desire.'

'That is because at heart, you are still a mixed-up Gryffindor.'

'No,' Harry responded patiently, 'that is because I made your dick hard.'

'My bathroom mirror can do that.'

'Can your bathroom mirror do this?' Harry asked reaching out and sliding his hand slowly against Draco's groin.

Draco started at the unexpected touch and then chuckled, 'you'd be surprised.'

Harry pulled his hand back laughing, 'can I borrow your mirror?'

Draco's laughter grew, 'you are one sick pup.'

Harry shrugged, still smiling, 'just be happy I wasn't on the field today.'

'As I told you, it wouldn't have mattered. I was really on today; when that maneuver works, it is wicked.'

'That is the thing; it wouldn't have worked if I'd been there.'

'You are just being a jealous fuck. That was wicked and you know it.'

Harry shrugged again as if he didn't think much of the play at all.

Draco's eyes narrowed, 'and you are a dishonest little shit to boot.' Draco rubbed his eye with his fingers, apparently clearing an itch.

Harry found himself once again instantly transfixed by the sight of the slim fingers as they moved about Draco's face. Just why he was so turned on by Draco's hand he still couldn't fathom. Ever since that dream….

A slow grin etched itself across Harry's face, 'all right, I admit it, the play was wicked,' he said slyly and before the Slytherin could reply he leaned in and gave him a healthy little kiss that wasn't resisted in the least.

Harry edged his lips back, 'but that was wickeder.'

Draco chuckled, 'you've got it bad Potter.'

'Don't flatter yourself,' Harry whispered, but his wide smile had made its appearance.

The lads fell silent as the door opened and Sirius and Remus re-entered the room.

Draco immediately stood up, 'I had better be going; I want to swing by the celebration tonight and I will have to leave early if we are setting out in the morning.'

'Leaving already?' Sirius said, drawing out each word, 'I was hoping you might stay a few minutes so we could talk.'

Harry, Draco AND Remus stared at Sirius. Harry knew that gleam in his godfather's eye, and he was almost sure it was the same spark of light that had shone forth when his godfather was young and pulling pranks at Hogwarts. Remus, of course was positive.

Draco knew nothing about gleams or pranks and he had never carried out a proper conversation with Sirius Black. However, Black's reputation preceded him and from the little he'd witnessed, it was all true. The words forthright and intimidating, came to mind and the man's arrogance clearly put Draco's to shame.

'I really should-' Draco began.

'Sit down for a bit,' Sirius requested, his eyes adding the demand.

Draco dropped back onto the couch. It wasn't that he was intimidated; under normal circumstances he would have told Black to shove off and stormed out. However, Black now held a nice little piece of blackmail in the form of a secret that Draco wished to keep that way as long as possible and he was none too certain about Black's honor.

Remus and Sirius sat down as well, the former staring fixedly at the latter.

'So,' Sirius said in a jovial tone, ignoring Remus' eyes which were boring into the side of his head, 'exactly what are you playing at with my godson?'


	12. Chapter 12

**To Lay A Dragon**

**All of the delectable characters belong to JK Rowling. **

**Chapter 12**

**A/N: Thank you to everyone who reviewed. Enjoy…**

**----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

Draco's mouth had fallen open quite unintentionally as Sirius' question reached his ears. _What exactly did he think he was playing at with Harry_? What kind of question was that? He might have expected such a question if he were sixteen, but they were both all of twenty-five years old.

However, Harry spoke up quickly, 'Sirius!' he said, his voice demanding and pleading all at the same time. He looked from Draco's rather shocked expression to his godfather with an expression that clearly read _what the hell are you doing?_

Sirius' face suddenly broke into a huge smile, 'got cha,' he said, throwing his head back and laughing merrily.

Remus too began chuckling, dropping his face into one hand and leaning forward slightly.

'Not very funny,' Harry commented drolly.

Draco sat with a bemused expression on his face, unsure whether to join in the laughter or stand and run from the room. Sirius Black, he decided, was a madman.

'Just kidding around,' Sirius said to Draco when his laughter finally died down, 'but I had to do it…you should have seen your face.' His laughter rang out again.

'Enough Sirius,' Remus said, still chuckling himself.

'If the two of you are through acting like eleven year olds,' Harry said dryly, 'perhaps we could have a slightly more mature conversation for a moment?'

Sirius laughed a bit more at that and then attempted to compose himself. Remus too managed to squelch his laughter.

Harry cleared his throat, his tone solemn when he spoke, 'the fact is, Draco isn't terribly attracted to me, but I am absolutely besotted with him. However, he has been so kind as to agree to my moving into his house and being with him whenever he agrees to be with me.'

Draco's head whipped around to face Harry, his expression incredulous.

Sirius and Remus stared at Harry for a moment and then they simultaneously broke into laughter.

Sirius recovered first, 'nice try Harry,' he sputtered, 'but you are not quite up to the level of Marauder yet.'

Harry's wide smile appeared and then he too broke into laughter, 'I hadda try for revenge,' he said in between bursts of mirth, 'you dear godfather are just a devil.'

'And not even with the slightest disguise,' Sirius added gingerly.

Harry shook his head and turned to meet Draco's eyes, 'well Draco; meet my family, all of them completely nutters.'

Draco grinned, 'just like you.'

Harry and Remus laughed.

Sirius looked up with a good-natured frown, 'hey now,' he said, his tone remonstrative.

But Draco just lifted his hands in surrender and shook his head as if he had no idea how to deal with the insane people he found himself with.

The gesture caused the 'insane people' to laugh a bit more before the group finally began speaking again; this time on sanguine topics, much more to Draco's liking. Draco never did become very comfortable during the conversation…something about Sirius Black kept him wary and Remus was a complete mystery to him. Nonetheless, he felt that the two of them at least had some liking for him by the end of it.

Draco set out for home an hour later to prepare for his team's celebration that night, leaving Sirius and Remus to entertain a suddenly less ecstatic Harry.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next morning the healers released Harry from St. Mungos quite early. Sirius and the Weasleys were there to escort him home from the hospital and the four of them apparated to the pit. Remus had left sometime earlier to meet with Nicolas and attend to Draco's little problem.

Harry, Sirius and the Weasleys sat having tea and eating biscuits when they arrived at the pit and after a bit of conversation, Mrs. Weasley began expressing her concern about Ginny's recent behavior.

'She seems more sullen and withdrawn than usual these days,' Molly commented, 'she spends long hours in her laboratory and only leaves occasionally, usually in the evening to go out and returns after we've gone to bed. Ginny rarely speaks to us anymore except for the merest pleasantries and yet she insists that everything is fine. I am really worried about her.'

Arthur Weasley frowned, 'she won't say where she is going in the evening either, no matter how much we try to pressure her into doing so. She is an adult now, however, so there are limits to what we can do about it all. The Auror's won't allow her to visit Snape, so we know she doesn't go there. But what mostly concerns us is her overall attitude. I have never seen her so depressed.'

Harry frowned, 'I have occasionally seen her out with friends at clubs in the evening…maybe that is where she goes.'

'Maybe,' Molly said sighing, 'she just tells us that she is too old to have to discuss her movements with us,' she frowned deeply, 'it isn't as if she is rude about it; I mean she just says things in that same dull voice she has begun to use, telling us that she is old enough to see to herself now.'

I will try and speak with her again,' Harry said.

'I just hope this has nothing to do with Snape,' Molly mourned, 'if that man has somehow caused Ginny to fall in love with him-'

'I'll kill him!' declared Arthur.

'You'll have to wait in line,' Harry declared his face suddenly set in lines of anger.

'I will happily rip his heart out for all of us,' Sirius added ardently.

That teased a small smile from Molly's lips knowing that among all of them, Sirius was likely the most sincere, 'well let us hope it is something else.'

Harry stood, 'I will apparate to the Burrows now and speak with her. Is she there?'

'Harry you've just come from the hospital, it can wait. You need to relax a bit and get settled in here.'

Harry shook his head, 'I've been fine for some time; the healers kept me trapped in that hospital far too long. I will go now.'

Sirius looked a bit concerned, but he knew Harry was actually fine. He nodded in agreement.

'She is in her potions room in the attic,' Molly said defeated, 'but promise me you won't over-tire yourself, Harry.'

Harry chuckled, 'I really don't think this will cause me the least bit of physical deterioration.'

Molly smiled and stood to embrace Harry, 'thank you, dear. I hope you have more success than we have.'

Harry hugged her in return and shortly thereafter apparated to the Burrows. The house was empty and very quiet; very unlike the bustle he was used to when he visited the home. He made his way up several flights of stairs until he reached the attic and then slowly opened the door and stepped inside.

Harry walked slowly to where Ginny stood amidst numerous bubbling cauldrons and filled flasks.

'Ginny,' Harry said softly when he was a small distance from her.

It was evident she had heard him enter; she wasn't startled when he spoke, but she didn't face him either. She continued to stir a large cauldron that was filled with a light green mucus looking substance, her eyes fixed on her task.

Harry moved until he was standing beside her, 'Ginny,' he said again.

This time she did look up and meet his eyes and the pain he saw within them made him flinch. Without thinking, Harry wrapped his arms about her, pulling her around into his embrace and was not at all surprised when she burst into tears, her face pressed tightly to his chest.

Harry stroked her hair with one hand and held her tightly in a hug with the other, 'don't cry, Ginny, I hate to see you cry,' he murmured.

However cry she did, and for quite sometime; balling like her heart had been broken into a million pieces.

When her sobbing had finally subsided into whimpers, Harry spoke again, 'are you going to tell me what is going on?' his voice was still kind, but there was a bit of an edge to it now.

Ginny spoke into his chest, her words interrupted by sniffles, 'they think…they believe I am in love with…Snape. But it – isn't true, Harry. It is all driven – by potions. Th – they know h – how much time I spend here now and still they think…'

Harry hugged her a little tighter, 'well I don't think it; no one in their right mind could believe that you were in love with professor Snape.'

Ginny pulled back from the embrace a little and looked up, her eyes a bit swollen and her lips trembling, 'you don't? You believe me?'

'Of course I do,' Harry said gently, pulling her right back against him tightly.

'He wouldn't try to poison me,' she muttered stubbornly into his robe.

Harry didn't respond. He wasn't so certain about all of that, but it didn't seem the proper time to debate the issue.

'Harry, my life is such a disaster,' Ginny suddenly wailed into his chest.

Harry frowned at the unexpected cry; her outburst surprised him. He suddenly began to believe that there was more to all of this than met the eye. She wasn't merely crying over her family's disbelief in her. He knew Ginny well and she had a stronger character than most people realized. This was so unlike her; she was falling completely apart.

'Ginny,' Harry said, his tone now almost abrasive, 'what is _wrong_? And I don't want to hear anything more about Snape; I know you have been forbidden to visit him, but that is not what is bothering you.'

Ginny pulled completely from his embrace then and backed away. She placed a hand over her eyes, hugging herself with her other arm.

'Ginny?' Harry was becoming a bit worried.

After a long few moments Ginny finally met his eyes and he saw a little of the old spark in them that had been missing for some time reappear, 'I'm pregnant,' she blurted out.

_That_ was positively the last thing Harry had expected to hear. His eyes grew wide and his face paled, 'you're what?' the words came out with more force and incredulity than he would have liked.

Ginny flinched a little, but quickly seemed to get a hold of herself again, 'pregnant,' she stated firmly. Her eyes never left his and her lips formed a thin stubborn line.

'Y-you are going to have a baby?' Harry said, still stunned and in reality having no idea what to say at all.

Ginny tilted her head a little, defiance lurking in her glance, 'I believe that is what pregnant means.'

'B-but how? I mean who…?'

'It doesn't matter who,' she said, her voice suddenly strong and bold, 'the father and I mean nothing to one another.'

Harry stared at her stubborn expression and knew she was lying. She might mean nothing to the father, but he would bet his left bullock that the father, whoever he was, meant a good deal to her.

'Ginny-' Harry began, then paused. He knew her well and when she was in one of her stubborn moods it paid to tread carefully with her. He sighed, 'so,' he continued slowly, 'what do you plan to do?'

'What is there to do?' she asked, her expression suddenly hard and cold, 'I am going to have my baby and take care of it.'

Harry frowned, 'do your parents know?'

'No.'

Horror zipped its way through Harry's expression for a moment, 'it's – it's not Snape's child is it?'

Ginny scowled heavily, 'Snape's? How in Merlin's name would that even be possible, Harry? Do you think the Auror's would allow us to jump on the table and have sex during one of my visits?'

Harry shook his head quickly, 'no of course not, sorry. It is just that you said you were not romantically involved with Snape and then you said that the father meant nothing to you and I just put two and two together and…it was a crazy thought, forget it.' He was babbling and he knew it, but his mind was in a whirl.

'You are the only one who knows and I want to keep it that way for now, Harry,' Ginny said then, 'I am only telling you because I know my parents have asked you to speak with me and because you would never stop pestering me about what is wrong until you had an answer.'

Harry smiled a little and moved forward to pull her into another embrace, 'I love you, Ginny; always have and always will. I will help you in anyway you need me to.'

Ginny hugged him back, her body falling against his, 'I know you do, Harry.'

'Ginny?' he asked softly after several minutes.

'Um?'

'Who is the father?'

Ginny said nothing for many moments and he felt her body start to tremble, he held her tighter.

When she spoke her voice was rather hollow, 'It…it is crazy…completely crazy…just a few months, Harry. It meant nothing, to both of us, just a means of…I don't know what – release? Fun? Horniness? We weren't even to-together, we've never meant anything to one another…I mean he was with many other women at the same time and …' her voice trailed off.

'Does he know?'

'No!' Ginny said sharply.

'Who?' Harry pressed.

'B-Blaise Zabini.'

It took everything Harry had not to react when she uttered the name. Blaise and he were as close as two teammates who were not particularly best friends could be. And all things said and done, he liked the bloke quite a lot.

However, Blaise was a cad…a playboy of the worst sort. He bedded more women than anyone Harry knew – women threw themselves at the Blaise with almost the same ardency and frequency as they threw themselves at him. And Blaise was always much more receptive. Blaise's suave manner and handsome face was a ticket to downfall for nearly every woman who crossed his path. And now Blaise had carried Ginny along that wicked trail…_his_ Ginny…_his sister!_

'Harry, please don't say anything to him. I – I lied to him. We – we got carried away and I told him I had protected myself against becoming pregnant and I hadn't.'

Harry looked down at the red hair cascading beneath him, 'he has to know, Ginny,' he remarked with a gentleness he wasn't feeling at all.

Ginny shook her head against him, 'it wasn't his fault, he asked me specifically and I lied.'

Harry frowned, 'why did you, I mean didn't you realize what could happen?'

Ginny took a shaky breath, 'I – I guess I did; it is just that when you and I, you remember…well I never used anything then either.'

'I used something when we made love; I cast a spell,' Harry responded darkly.

Ginny's eye shot up to meet his, 'I didn't know,' she whimpered, 'I hadn't been with anyone since you, Harry. I guess I just figured it wouldn't happen. You and I had been together so many times and nothing ever happened.'

_Stupid, stupid, stupid! _Harry was becoming angry with himself. Why hadn't he told her? He had cast an impotency spell that Hermione had taught him each time before they had made love.

'When was this? When were you and Blaise together?' Harry asked, confusion entering his tone. Ginny had said whatever she had going on with Blaise had been happening for a few months and yet he'd never seen them together, not once.

A small tremble went through Ginny again, 'it was crazy, Harry. I – we started talking at a bar one night and after that…well he has an interest in potions too and we just got on so well. I don't know one thing kept leading to another every time I went to his flat and-'

'You went to his flat?' Harry interrupted, surprise in his tone.

'He has a laboratory; it is an incredible laboratory; he is so wealthy…but it is just a hobby for him and I was – well I was so enchanted with it and he said I could visit any evening I liked in order to use it. It is so much better equipped than mine and well, I have gone numerous times and sometimes we'd do things there…'

Harry could well imagine the things that had gone on in that laboratory. He felt like punching Blaise's lights out.

'When did you stop going? I mean, how long ago was all of this?'

'I – I haven't exactly stopped going, Harry,' she responded, her voice nearly a whisper.

Harry's face flushed with anger and he tried to remain calm, 'Blaise has to be told,' he said finally.

'I know,' Ginny said morosely, 'and I will. But Harry, I want to do it in my own way and in my own time, alright?'

Harry's grip tightened about her, 'alright,' he responded and when she didn't speak again he added, 'just remember I am here for you, no matter what happens.'

'I know,' Ginny said softly.

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Draco was seated in the carriage across from Remus as it moved rapidly along a rather deserted road toward their destination. Nicolas had set out in a separate carriage a bit earlier and left instructions for Remus to collect Draco and follow.

To Draco's relief, Remus was not nearly as formidable as Sirius and he found himself drawn into a rather relaxing conversation with the man. They discussed Quidditch, politics and even the war to a small degree, something that generally made him uncomfortable. However, he found himself opening up in a most unusual way while speaking to Remus whose soothing tones and quiet smiles were placating and accepting.

By the time they had made it half way to their destination, the two were on a first name basis and Draco felt something like a small bond had grown between him and this adult werewolf; something he hadn't felt with any adult in his life with the exception of his mother.

The trusting feeling emboldened him to ask something he'd been curious about for a very long time, he and half the wizard world.

'Remus, how did Sirius come back? I mean if it is a secret, I don't mean to be forward, I was just wondering…'

Remus smiled kindly, 'it was a secret at first; I imagine soon it will be common knowledge however. It was really all due to Nicolas.'

'The detective?'

Remus nodded.

'Actually Harry mentioned once that you had met him back at that time and I had an uncanny feeling then that he somehow brought Sirius back from the dead…the man is just…just-'

Remus interrupted Draco's speech with laughter, 'well Nicolas did not bring Sirius back from the dead, but he was certainly heavily involved.'

'Oh,' Draco remarked, sitting back.

'Nicolas is a wonderful person and a dear friend,' Remus continued, 'and responsible not only for making Sirius return possible but for my currently healthy appearance.'

Remus too sat back and his expression took on a far away look, 'after the war I was rather lost. Most of those who I'd fought with during the war began moving on, busy getting on with their lives, and I found myself without much company. I returned to my little cottage, but there were a lot of memories I associated with being there… with Sirius during the planning stages of the war.

'You see that is when we established a relationship, when he was sent to my home to warn me of Voldemort's return. It was then that we admitted to one another that we'd had feelings for one another a long time. We were unable to be together all that much due to the war, but every chance we got we were together until he fell through the veil. Well my old home was the start of it all so you can imagine I became quite depressed being there.

'I truly don't know what I would have done, but two days after I arrived, Harry unexpectedly turned up on my doorstep. He tossed a bag into my hands with a good amount of gold in it and insisted I use it to get away for a while. I suppose he noticed my depression, but of course I did not want the charity.

'Harry stayed for a week, pestering me almost constantly until I finally agreed to take the money and go somewhere new and get a fresh perspective. I ended up in France; don't ask me why. I had only a small bag with a change of clothes and a jug of Wolfsbane potion Harry had gotten Slughorn to make for me and no plan whatsoever.

'I wandered into a small bar when I arrived, quite unsure what the hell I was doing there and had a few goblets of wine. It was there I met Nicolas. He came to my table and asked if he could sit and I agreed. It was a little odd because I hadn't made a habit of frequenting bars alone up to that point and I had never encountered such a situation before.'

'Most people would have thought they were being picked up,' Draco said with a large smile.

Remus nodded and chuckled, 'well it crossed my mind, but that did not turn out to be the case. We began talking and ended up sitting there for hours discussing many different things. We had a lot in common which surprised me. I suppose because he is so handsome I had imagined that he led a rather dashing life, however, as it turned out, he lived mostly in seclusion, much as I had. Although in his case, it was by choice.

'We both had an avid interest in books and he invited me to his cabin to see his library. I became a little wary because I…well I haven't had a lot of friends and I wasn't sure what he was after as you've suggested.'

Draco grinned.

Remus inclined his head and continued, 'nonetheless, having no plans whatsoever, I agreed to accompany him home and I am very glad I did. His cabin turned out to be quite large and his library was immense. We sat looking over books for another couple of hours…it took time because his library was a mess.

'He offered to take me home in his carriage, however, I had not found rooms yet and upon discovering that was the case, he suggested I stay. At that point I naturally became wary again, but something told me I could trust the man.

'As it turned out I could. The next day he offered me room and board in return for sorting his library. My clothes were rather shabby and he thought I had no money, but he later told me that he'd never met a person with whom he'd actually connected in the way he had with me; on a purely mental and academic level and that he had a great desire that we become friends. To be honest, I felt something similar and I accepted his offer.

'The next day he returned with a set of clothes and a few other items for me, telling me it was in gratitude for sorting his library and that is when I told him I was quite flush in funds. I paid for the items, but it was actually quite nice to have clothes that were not falling off of my back.'

Draco nodded.

Remus smiled again, 'over time we became very good friends, nothing romantic mind you, completely platonic, something I really didn't think I would ever experience again in life. He hadn't many friends either, for different reasons, so it worked out quite nicely.

'Well he overfed me for about three months on that rich food the French are so fond of, to the point where I had to purchase new clothes because I'd filled out so much. During that time he did another wonderful thing for me. He introduced me to a potion discovered in his country that reduced the scarring on my body. I don't know if you recall, but I used to be quite scarred.

Draco nodded his eyes intent, 'I had noticed; I remember at Hogwarts, you had a lot of scars about the face, but now they are gone.'

Remus laughed, 'yes, it was wonderful; if you look very closely a couple still remain, but they are so light, it is difficult to see them. However the most remarkable thing about that time was that on the day of the first full moon, Nicolas told me that he knew I was a werewolf.

'That of course scared the hell out of me, but he was much like my old friends at Hogwarts, reassuring me that it meant nothing to him and accepting me without a smidgeon of prejudice.

I took the Wolfsbane potion that evening and transformed in my room and he heard my painful cries. The very next day he told me about a French version of the potion that lessened the pain. It was the basis for what we have now in England thanks to Sirius. In any case, I became very healthy as a result of his assistance, nearly unrecognizable as the same man who had left England.

Draco nodded again, 'you look great, younger than I ever remember and very healthy,' his eyes wandered over Remus' face and hair.

A small smile lit Remus' features, 'yes, as you can see my hair has even lost most of its gray, but that is a charm he insisted I use and which I still do. He was quite correct that I was far too gray for my years.'

Draco laughed, 'well he was right.'

Remus nodded, 'Well, with all of the changes to my person, I came to look quite different and that would cause me a little bit of trauma down the line,' Remus paused a moment before continuing, 'his greatest gift however was yet to come. I spoke of Sirius from time to time, but just like I spoke of everyone else so he couldn't know of that particular pain. He didn't read me you see after the first evening we'd met – well you know of his gifts.'

'Oh yes,' Draco said heavily.

Remus laughed and then continued, 'one day we were taking a walk in the forest surrounding his home when I tripped and fell over a branch and landed on my back. It was pretty painful and when we got back to the cabin he performed a healing spell and then worked out a couple of knots with his hands. He hadn't touched me for longer than thirty seconds when he suddenly stopped and came around to face me.

'You've lost your mate!' he declared. I was flabbergasted of course, but I ended up telling him everything about Sirius; finally pouring out my soul to someone of what was to me one of the greatest losses of my life. I felt almost relieved afterward, but his reaction was odd; I expected sympathy to tell the truth, but he was looking at me and his eyes were gleaming.

'It turns out that the French ministry has a room similar to our death chamber. They used to have a arched veil like the one Sirius fell through in that room, however it had been moved. That is because for them, it was no longer a veil of death.

'Some years earlier a woman had fallen through their veil while working with it and one of their greatest wizards, akin to our Dumbledore, worked out magic that created a pathway from the darkness of the veil. He said that the whispers were from people in limbo; most of them had not fallen in through the veil, but were moving from the wizard world to afterlife or to become ghosts.

'But the woman who had fallen, she was not in limbo in the same sense. She had fallen into the veil rather than moved there naturally. Thus she was able to move along the path of magic he'd created and walked back out. Nicolas said it had taken three years for the magician to work out the magic and that gave me hope.

'I was ecstatic. The English knew nothing of the French Ministry's advancements with the veil you see, magic wasn't being shared at that time due to all that was going on with Voldemort. There was a lot of fear and thus a lot of secrecy between Ministries. Nicolas had connections though through his work as a detective and he knew the old wizard who'd done the work with the veil quite well.

'He convinced the wizard to come to England and share the magic and the knowledge with our Ministry and to…get Sirius back for me. I was frightened it would not work. I contacted Harry who was astonished and pleased by my recovery since he'd last seen me and we went with Nicolas to the Department of Mysteries and into the death chamber to watch the wizard create a path as he had done for the French woman.

'Both Harry and I were a complete mess of course and when Sirius walked out along that path, we both almost blacked out. Harry did look like he fainted when he ran forward fell into his godfather's arms and they hugged for a long while.

'Sirius finally looked around behind Harry and his eyes passed right over me. I was a bit devastated thinking that something had changed while he was in the state of limbo and he was no longer keen on our relationship. It also bothered me because even if he wasn't, you would think he would at least be happy to see his old friend. But he didn't say a word to me; his eyes moved back to Harry and he just stood there hugging him. I wanted to rush forward of course, despite whatever he felt about me, but it just seemed wrong to interfere with their reunion.

'Finally, Kingsley who was acting as our Minister at that time, moved forward and Sirius loosened his grip on Harry and allowed Shacklebolt to explain what had happened. Sirius immediately moved to thank the French wizard and then without regarding the rest of us who were in the room, he turned back to Kingsley and asked if the war was finished.'

'Harry snapped back into himself a bit then and excitedly began telling Sirius that it had indeed ended three months before and how he'd vanquished Voldemort. Then he told him how most had managed to survive and were now beginning to get on with their lives.'

'Sirius was grinning throughout the tale, but I could see sadness lurking in his eyes. When Harry finished speaking, Sirius turned to him and asked in a rather broken voice if I had made it through the battle. Harry looked at him in amazement and then pointed to where I was standing.

'Sirius looked at me, frowned and then his eyes grew extremely wide. He marched to where I stood and pulled me into a tight embrace and began growling my name over and over. You see, I'd forgotten the changes I had made to my person and I looked so different that he'd not recognized me at first glance. Later, he confirmed that he thought I wasn't present, that he'd not recognized me at all and feared I had died during the war.'

Draco was grinning broadly by that point in the tale, something warm and happy filling his heart for this man who had managed to pierce something inside of him as no older adult had before. It was extremely odd for Draco; outside of Blaise and…he admitted grudgingly, Harry, he had always placed a cold front between himself and others. Never letting anyone get too close and keeping himself shrouded from intimacy – even on the level of friendship.

'Well he'd just fallen in according to his mind, right?' Draco commented, 'I mean if he loved you when he fell in he would love you when he came out.'

'To his mind yes, but I didn't know that at the time. Of course I knew once he'd grabbed a hold of me. We were fairly circumspect, but it was very clear to both of us that nothing had changed between us. The whole thing was terribly surreal and wonderful and that is basically the story of Sirius' return.

The ministry asked us to keep it as quiet as possible while they worked things out with the French, but I believe that now it has been all sorted. As I said, it will only be a matter of time now before it is common knowledge.'

'And most people thought it was some sort of black magic,' Draco mused smiling a little.

In reality it wasn't; a purer magic is difficult to come by,' Remus smiled mischievously, 'but for me in a way it was…Sirius Black magic.'

Draco groaned good naturedly at the rather awful play on words.

Remus laughed, 'we are almost there,' he noted looking out of the window.

Despite all of the assurances that everything would go well, Draco felt a small flutter in his stomach as he looked out at the passing trees that lined the road.

'Everything will be fine,' Remus assured him in a quiet tone.

Draco looked into the eyes of the werewolf staring fondly at him and felt inexplicably reassured.


	13. Chapter 13

**To Lay A Dragon**

**All of the delectable characters belong to JK Rowling. **

**Chapter 13**

**A/N: Thank you to everyone who reviewed. Enjoy…**

**----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

Draco and Remus' carriage came to a stop in a small clearing that was shaded by a ring of tall trees. Another carriage awaited them and its door burst open when they pulled up. Moments later, Nicolas stepped down and moved rapidly toward their carriage to greet them.

After greetings had been passed all around, Nicolas looked at Draco, 'I need for you to come with me briefly, just to confirm that…Sven…is the vampire that bit you.'

Draco nodded and alighted from the carriage. He followed Nicolas a rather long distance along a dirt trail that cut through the trees. They reached another clearing and a small, but rather lovely cottage sat nestled between fat trees with brilliant green leaves.

Nicolas led Draco to the side of the cottage and signaled him to join him at an outer window. Draco peered inside the house and his eyes fell immediately upon a man sitting on a small settee. Dark hair fell over his forehead and cascaded liberally about his shoulders; his eyes were half closed, but there was no mistaking the face.

Draco jerked from the window and backed away, 'that's him,' he whispered, his voice anxious.

Nicolas nodded, 'it's alright; he isn't going to come out. I just wanted to be sure. I will escort you back to the carriage and I want you to stay there. Do not leave the carriage for any reason. Remus will join me and we shouldn't be gone very long and then…we can return home. Hopefully everything will be settled.'

Draco nodded and followed Nicolas back to the carriages.

'I thought vampires only came out in the night.' Draco commented softly as they walked.

Nicolas gave a little breathless laugh, 'that is a myth, one of so many others.'

'Oh. It is just that they are not wizards and we know so little about them.'

'That is another myth propagated by the Ministry. Most vampires _are_ wizards. You see, vampires bite only fully grown adults, so wizards that are bitten and become vampires have generally completed their education.'

'I suppose that would have to be true,' Draco agreed.

'It is very rare to find a non-magical Muggle vampire anymore; they have become very selective in the last several decades,' Nicolas informed him as they reached the carriages.

Draco immediately climbed back inside the carriage as Remus hopped out.

Remus turned back to face him for a moment, 'are you alright?'

'Yes,' Draco nodded, 'I am fine.'

'Good,' Remus said quietly, 'remain in the carriage until we return. I have placed a protective shield about the carriage just in case, but I don't suspect you will be disturbed.'

'Thank you,' Draco murmured.

Remus smiled and turned to walk into the woods with Nicolas. As they approached the cottage Remus, paused, 'I'll wait here,' he said with a knowing look at his friend.

Nicolas nodded, 'thank you.'

Remus gave his friend's arm a squeeze and watched as Nicolas made his way into the cottage.

When Nicolas entered, Sven arose at once from the couch and moved toward him.

'Sven,' Nicolas said softly.

'Nicolas,' Sven said, his face creasing into a lustful smile, and his incisors elongating as he regarded the wizard before him, 'my beautiful Nicolas…so very lovely.'

Nicolas' eyes gleamed for a moment but then he lowered them. A small smile appeared about his lips, but it did not reach his eyes, 'Sven, I-'

'My name on your lips is like the sweet drip of water trickling down from a fountain,' Sven cut in suavely.

Nicolas frowned slightly and tried again, 'Sven, I am here to discuss an arrangement you have with Lucius Malfoy.'

Sven's head shot up quickly and frowned a bit, 'Lucius Malfoy? The name does not ring a bell, you must be mistaken.'

'No I am not.' He met the vampire's eyes again, 'let us dispense with the games. I need for you to disregard his instructions and I will double whatever amount of gold he has promised you.'

Sven laughed, a deep swelling sound that filled the room and penetrated Nicolas' head, reverberating and leaving him feeling slightly dizzy.

'You know very well that the arrangement could not possibly include an exchange for gold.' Sven smiled broadly and his eyes began twinkling.

Nicolas looked down, 'well whatever he has promised you certainly comes with a price; I am willing to double it.'

'Ah but what price can one put on the head of a son?'

Nicolas looked up again, his eyes narrowed at the vampire and shining with fire.

'Draco will make a fine son eventually I think,' Sven added.

Nicolas flinched at the words and his response was terse, 'you would take him and kill Harry Potter?'

Sven hissed through his teeth, his rage shining forth, 'I have no intention of harming Harry Potter. That was very, very bad coming from you.'

The light left Nicolas' eyes, and he nodded jarringly, 'you are right of course, I apologize. It is just the normal-'

'There is nothing normal when it comes to Harry Potter,' Sven interjected, 'I was against that Voldemort character you may recall, as was most of the society.'

Nicolas nodded again, 'yes, yes I know, I'm sorry.' He sighed heavily, 'but the other…Draco Malfoy. He was not your choice; you did not want him for a son. I doubt that you do even now.'

Sven smiled again, 'true, so very true. But you and I both know the son I have chosen.'

Nicolas started when the vampire suddenly disappeared and reappeared standing so close to him, their faces were nearly touching. The white of Sven's eyes began to redden and Nicolas closed his eyes.

Sven reached up and cupped Nicolas' face with his palms, softly stroking the smooth skin beneath them, 'the only son I want,' Sven continued softly, his tone mesmerizing, 'why do you deny me, my sweet, Nicolas?'

Nicolas' body trembled slightly.

'You would be the perfect son for me,' Sven persisted, 'decades ago vampire blood entered your line – it is your destiny. So many in the society want you for a son, Nicolas,' his tone decreased to a whisper, 'but not one of them wants you as much as I do. As much as I always have and always will.'

Sven slipped one of his hands away and moved his head slowly forward until his cheek was pressed against Nicolas' cheek, 'be mine,' he purred into his ear as he slowly caressed the beautiful face with his own.

'I cannot,' Nicolas said weakly, 'not now.'

'Don't resist me, dear Nicolas; I keep them all away from you because you are mine.'

Nicolas squeezed his eyes tightly and grasped wildly for the power he held inside, wielding it into a ball of resistance until he finally felt the strength to shove Sven away. He turned his back to the vampire and stood breathing heavily.

'That is my price Nicolas. I will give up Draco for another son, my chosen son.'

Nicolas raised a hand to his face and began wiping at the beads of moisture that had formed along his brow, 'Sven,' he said hoarsely, 'I implore you to do this thing for me. I know you – the society – does not need funds. But it is the only thing I have to offer; do not ask the other of me, you know that is not possible right now.'

'Life immortal awaits you and for one with your exquisite beauty, it is a perfect fit, a perfectly delightful fit. And you would be with me, Nicolas, forever.'

'Please.'

Sven was at his back again, he could feel him even before a strong hand swept the thick hair away and soft lips began moving about the skin on his neck.

'Please, Sven,' Nicolas begged again, standing perfectly still as hot gasps of air fell gently along his neck.

'So alluring!' Sven whispered ardently, 'your scent leaves my senses reeling; I can taste you – I need you,' the vampire said into his skin, into his soul as his lips continued to trace a path over the smooth expanse.

'Please,' Nicolas voice broke as he uttered the word, sounding more like a sob.

Suddenly Sven let go and when Nicolas turned around he saw that the vampire stood as far away from him as possible across the room, his hands folded across his chest.

'I do not require your money,' Sven said sharply.

Nicolas sighed; half with relief and half with despair, 'I know, but there is nothing more I can offer you.'

Sven's laugh was short and brittle and completely without mirth, 'on the contrary, you alone can offer me everything and the only thing I have ever wanted.' Sven's tone turned bitter, 'but it is I who cannot resist you,' his face twisted with anger, 'you use that against me. You tease me constantly with hope; a hope that may never materialize.'

Nicolas continued to stare at Sven, his eyes filling with tears and slowly falling down his cheeks.

'You are so very beautiful when you cry; I want you so desperately…so very desperately.'

'I'm sorry,' Nicolas said brokenly, his eyes never leaving the vampire's.

Sven's eyes narrowed and his pale face was whiter than ever, 'I won't touch Draco. I won't go near him and I will see to it that no other accepts any deal against him from his father. I only agreed to it because I owed the man a debt from many years ago…when I was a mere wizard he offered me assistance. But I do not forget those I owe even now.'

Nicolas looked at Sven apprehensively.

'Calm your fears,' Sven said soothingly, 'Malfoy's wishes mean nothing to me in comparison to your desires, my dear Nicolas. I will gladly defy him for you. There will be other ways I might repay him in the future, but it will not be through the taking of his child.'

Nicolas closed his eyes and released a great rush of air in relief, 'thank you,' he said softly.

'But I will never make such a promise when it comes to you my love, never.'

Nicolas looked up again and drew a shaky breath, 'do you think it is easy for me to come here, Sven? Do you think I have tossed away all of the love I held for you? Well I haven't and I don't imagine I ever shall,' his voice broke and he paused attempting to recover, 'for seven long years I have struggled with this and it only gets harder with each passing year.'

Sven's smile held only coldness, 'you seem to be doing just fine with Lucian.'

Nicolas flinched a little.

'Did you think I didn't know? I know everything about you, Nicolas, every, single, little thing. You love him and he loves you and I well know it.' He titled his head a bit, 'perhaps that is why you stand here lying to me.'

Nicolas' eyes sparked with life, 'I am not lying. I told you I had to find someone, it was all becoming too much for me. I do love him, as much as it is possible for me to love and I have absolutely no fear that you would kill him were I to stop resisting you – despite the fact that he loves me. But one day he will fall out of love, I know that; I suppose that is why I am with him.'

Sven studied the ground for a moment, and when he lifted his head it was Nicolas who had moved this time…standing so close; too close.

'You're right, I would never kill Lucian, although I doubt he will fall out of love with you,' Sven said, his voice slightly strained, 'one knows when they have found perfection.' Sven's arms moved to encircle Nicolas' waist, 'they say there is no pain for a vampire whose human lover is killed, but that is a blatant lie. I could never stand to look at you and see that pain; not when I can look into your eyes and see what I do now.'

Nicolas dropped his gaze and wrapped his arms tightly about Sven, his first and true love, lost to the vampires seven long years ago. So different now; the poetic phrases that often littered his speech, his too pale face, the hissing and the laughter; and yet in many ways, in _every other way_, he was still the Sven that Nicolas had loved so dearly – still loved so dearly. The dark wild hair, the piercing blue eyes that now reddened when he hungered, the strong lithe body and so many other little details – all the same.

'One day I won't be able to stand it any longer,' Nicolas lamented softly, 'I will no longer be able to resist.'

'So you have said,' Sven murmured with longing in his tone, 'and yet you keep me dangling on the precipice of hope. But you know one cannot wait forever. I have no sons; I wait for you and perhaps in vain. You realize that was another reason I found Malfoy's offer attractive? It was an opportunity for me to move on and free myself from this endless hoping.'

Nicolas tightened his hold a moment and then lifted his head and pressed his lips firmly against Sven's, emotions pouring from him into the vampire. When he finally pulled away he turned immediately and began walking toward the door.

'I would never lie to you, Sven, never,' he called out hoarsely over his shoulder.

'I can only hope,' Sven said softly as he watched his Nicolas, his chosen son, turn and walk from the cottage. He pulled a blood lollipop from his pocket and ripping the wrapper off, he sucked at it greedily in an attempt to assuage the hunger that he'd been repressing since Nicolas' arrival.

Remus stood a small distance from the cottage and when he saw Nicolas alight he moved quickly forward and enveloped his friend in a warm hug.

'Were you successful?' he asked quietly.

'Yes,' Nicolas breathed, 'with respect to Draco anyway.'

Remus hugged his friend a little tighter, fully understanding his pain and wishing they had not had to come. It was bad enough that Nicolas met Sven on the infrequent basis that he did…to force an intervening meeting was nothing short of torture.

The two stood for a few moments in silence while Nicolas regained his composure, pulling strength from Remus and making the same promise to his heart he did every time he left Sven's presence. Finally he pulled from Remus' tight hold and signaled that they should return to where the carriages awaited them.

'Thank you Remus,' Nicolas said softly as they walked.

'I don't require gratitude from my friends,' Remus answered with a small smile.

That wrung a small laugh from Nicolas who had said the same thing to Remus not very long before and the two continued on their way, both feeling somewhat more content.

Draco was relieved when Nicolas and Remus returned to the carriage and told him that he no longer had to live in fear of the vampire returning for a second go at his neck.

Draco looked worriedly at Nicolas, the man looked as though he had been through a battle; haggard and weary. However, Remus caught his eye and shook his head slightly and Draco understood that to mean he should ask no questions.

The three made their way to the carriages, but this time Nicolas accompanied Draco and Remus for the return trip. He fell asleep almost immediately though, his head resting against Remus' shoulder while Draco and Remus softly chatted and the carriage rattled homeward.

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Harry's welcome home party was in full swing by ten 'o clock. It seemed as if every member of each of the London based Quidditch teams was present and had brought a friend along, mostly of the female persuasion. All of the other people his guardians had invited had made it as well, although Remus, Nicolas and Draco had not yet returned. Harry was anxiously awaiting them, praying that all was going well.

Harry could tell that Sirius too seemed to be a bit pre-occupied with the lengthened journey of his mate, but he managed to act rather like his normal careless self. He was currently in the den with the 'older' set who were having a more subdued party than Harry and his teammates in the front room. However, Harry was sure that would change soon enough; his godfather was no more subdued than he was; less so as a matter of fact.

Harry was standing near the door when Blaise arrived and he couldn't stop himself from glaring at his handsome teammate.

Blaise elevated his brows a bit in question at the unlooked for animosity that seemed to be emanating from Harry.

Harry had promised to say nothing, but inside he was bursting to say many things to Blaise Zabini, few of them nice. However, he managed to collect himself and his glare turned into a nonchalant façade. 'Hey,' he said offhandedly.

Blaise looked at Harry curiously, 'hey,' he replied.

Harry turned and walked away and Blaise stood staring at his back, wondering at his friend's odd behavior.

Harry moved to the back of the room where Neville sat talking with Luna. He joined in their conversation for a short while and then began to mingle from group to group, finally working himself back into a fairly good mood.

By eleven 'o clock, he was feeling more like himself again and things took a turn for the better when the door opened and Remus and Draco stood on the threshold.

Harry moved quickly to the door and Remus grabbed him into a hug before he had a chance to speak.

'Welcome home, Harry,' Remus said warmly, 'everything worked out fine with us.'

Harry hugged Remus in return and then pulled back a bit and looked from Remus to Draco, 'it did?'

Draco smiled, 'yup,' then he frowned a little, 'that is, Nicolas went through a bit of trauma, but apart from that, everything is fine now.'

'That Sven fellow won't be coming round then?'

Draco shook his head, 'all taken care of, but I'll tell you about it later, I don't really want to talk in front of all these people. And of course we would like to come into the house.'

Harry laughed and finally released Remus from his loose hold and clapped Draco on the arm, 'come in then, and…well…I am really happy it all worked out.'

'Me too,' Draco agreed.

'Took you guys long enough,' Harry murmured, taking Draco's coat and using his wand to send it into the adjacent room.

'Well we stopped by our homes first to change,' Draco responded.

Sirius, who had been checking the front room now and again looking for Remus' return, popped in then and moved quickly to where they stood, hugging his love and giving him a rather overly romantic kiss under the circumstances.

'Everything worked out okay then?' he asked once he'd pulled his lips away.

'Everything went perfectly,' Remus said smiling, 'Nicolas should arrive shortly. I think he went to fetch his friend.'

'Ah, okay,' Sirius looked at Remus penetratingly for a moment before he spoke again, 'come in and help me entertain the old folk in the den, it is really stuffy in there.'

'Uggh,' Remus muttered as he removed his coat and sent it sailing up the stairs with a wave of his hand.

Draco looked at Harry as Remus and Sirius moved off, 'Remus was great today, we talked a lot during our travels. And he appears to be quite a talented wizard as well; I didn't know he was capable of wand-less magic.'

Harry nodded, 'he is great, the greatest; both of my guardians are. Remus has had that talent for a long while. I've known since we were at Hogwarts; in the train on the way to school he conjured flames in his hand in our compartment without a wand. It was pretty awesome to me then. Of course now…' Harry shrugged.

'Of course now, you are also pretty proficient at it,' Draco finished for him chuckling a bit.

Harry shrugged again as the two moved toward the food tables and drew to one side where they were quite a distance from the others in the room.

'Don't play Mr. Modesty with me,' Draco said in an exasperated tone, 'I recognize it as a tactic on your part to fish for more compliments; but it isn't going to work.'

'Fuck off,' Harry said playfully, 'the admiration in your eyes whenever you look at me says a thousand words.'

Draco chuckled, 'you are mistaking disgust for admiration.'

Harry laughed, 'hero worship; I recognize it every time you glance at me and ravish me with your eyes.'

'What you see in my eyes' Draco declared, mirth still in his tone, 'are your own; thus it is your emotions that are reflected. A real shame because I am not the hero type, despite the fact that you worship me.'

'Oh, poor fellow thinks he is a god now.'

'No, now I think you think I am, and you know,' Draco said, his tone contemplating, 'you may be right.'

Harry laughed again, rolling his eyes, 'gods are intelligent.'

'Thank you.'

'I wasn't referring to you; you have proven yourself to be a fucking dumbass.'

'Ahhhh,' Draco said moving his face to within inches of Harry's, 'but you've already admitted to liking my dumb _ass_ very much haven't you? Late at night, gyrating above you.'

Draco lifted a finger and slowly stroked the side of Harry's face.

Harry opened his mouth to retort, but instead found himself without words and his eyes transfixed by the movement of that elegant finger.

Draco pulled his hand slowly away and moved back a little, laughing.

Harry looked up with his mouth still hanging open, but his expression crumbled into that of a sullen child at the sound of the Slytherin's laughter, 'you ass,' he said, swiftly turning to pour himself a drink.

Draco continued to laugh and Harry continued to ignore him and only turned from the table when the doorbell rang. With a grudging look at a still smiling Draco, he moved quickly to the door and pulled it open.

Nicolas, dressed for a party and looking more gorgeous than any man had a right to, stood smiling before him. 'Hello Harry,' he said brightly.

Harry moved backward so that Nicolas could enter, 'hi Nicolas, glad you could make it.'

It was only then that Harry realized he had not come alone. There was a man with him and it took a couple of seconds for Harry to recognize the familiar face.

'Lucian?' Harry said hesitantly, recalling the good looking French player who'd played with the Avengers for a while in London.

Lucian smiled, 'you remember me,' he said with his engaging French accent, 'hello Harry, good to see you again.'

'And you as well,' Harry murmured shaking his hand.

Harry hadn't noticed Draco moving behind him and was a little startled to hear his voice.

'Nicolas,' Draco said, nodding and giving him a warm smile. Then he turned his eyes to Lucian and his smile grew a bit, 'Lucian,' he said in a familiar way.

'Draco,' Lucian responded and the next moment he moved forward to pull the Slytherin into a hug.

Harry stood with Nicolas watching the two greet one another and recalling that Lucian had been Draco's first male lover. The two had not acted terribly besotted with one another, but their relationship had been the top hot-gossip item for weeks. Draco had been considered straight up to that point and his continued affair with the handsome Frenchmen had come as some surprise.

Lucian kept an arm about Draco's shoulders and began walking with him toward the food tables talking rather excitedly. Draco seemed to be just as enthralled to be speaking with Lucian.

'Where are Sirius and Remus?' Nicolas said breaking into Harry's thoughts.

Harry turned quickly and met Nicolas' eyes, 'they are in the den,' his voice had a bit of sullenness about it.

Nicolas nodded, 'thanks, I will go speak to them.' He looked to where Lucian and Draco stood talking and laughing near one of the food tables, 'they are old friends,' he said, his tone slightly apologetic, 'they haven't seen one another for a long while I don't think.'

Harry nodded, 'yeah, I know.'

'Right,' Nicolas said rather curtly, 'I'll just go and find Sirius and Remus, then.'

'Alright,' Harry responded, his eyes once again fixed on the couple.

Nicolas moved away leaving Harry to stare alone and the mean face of jealousy began rising within the Gryffindor's soul. His inner voice of reason insisted that there was nothing to be jealous about; they were just two old friends talking together, and it wasn't as if he and Draco had a defined relationship. However, neither of those factors helped to ease his raging senses one bit.

He wasn't certain how long he'd stood looking at the pair talking, but it had been quite sometime and he startled when a deep voice sounded beside him.

'Harry.'

Harry swept his eyes around to meet the speaker and they fell upon Blaise. The sight of _that _particular friend didn't help matters at all. His thoughts grew darker if anything.

'What is it?' he said in way too cutting of a tone.

'Whoa,' Blaise responded, 'down boy. What's wrong with you?'

Harry narrowed his eyes at Blaise; the insidious bloke had carelessly impregnated Ginny and he would likely shrug it off as a piece of bad luck. She may not be his sister by blood, but she may as well have been; his feelings for her couldn't have been more protective.

However, the feelings of anger that were riding wild and blackening his soul at the moment were built on the jealousy that had already been present and young Mr. Potter suddenly found himself in a tremendous rage. Oh yes, he had promised Ginny he wouldn't say a word, but some promises were just begging to be broken.

'A word if you please,' he said to Blaise, his tone indicating that he would brook no resistance.

Blaise followed Harry from the room and up the stairs to Harry's bedroom, his face awash with curiosity.

Harry shut the door to his bedroom once they were inside and whipped around to face Blaise, his face swathed in anger, 'you fucking bastard,' Harry spat.

Blaise blinked. He had no idea whatsoever where Harry's anger was coming from and he had never seen the Gryffindor look so angry.

'What the hell is going on?' Blaise asked, his voice a bit hesitant as he searched his mind for all of the recent sins he may have committed against humanity.

Harry's emerald eyes were almost black and his cheeks were heightened with color, 'I know what you have been doing during the evenings in your bloody laboratory, and it wasn't potions work,' Harry said furiously.

Blaise's eyes lit with realization and he stepped back a pace. His brain was working feverishly and when he spoke he tried to keep his tone level, 'I thought you and Ginny had called things off nearly four years ago,' he murmured.

Harry narrowed his eyes and his hands balled into fists at his side, 'we did.'

'Then what-'

'But that did not mean that she was available to become another of your little playthings you damned, stupid, bastard.'

Every muscle in Blaise's body became taut, 'she is twenty-four years old, Harry, I think she can decide what she wants to do and who she wants to do it with for herself.'

Harry stood staring at Blaise, trying to exercise some control over his emotions. He was on the verge of blowing up and pummeling Blaise into the earth.

Breathing rather heavily, his words came out with more venom and fire than Blaise had ever heard Harry use, 'you do not use Ginny and then toss her away like a rag doll.'

'I haven't tossed her away like anything,' Blaise said, defensively, 'there was never anything to toss; there as never been anything serious between us. We were just-'

But whatever Blaise was going to say was lost on the wind when Harry's fist suddenly connected with his jaw. It was an unexpected and ferocious punch and sent Blaise sprawling backward, tripping over his own feet and falling onto the ground.

'What the fuck is wrong with you?' Blaise yelled up from the floor, 'she wanted to be with me as much as I wanted to be with her.'

'Shut up!' Harry yelled, 'just shut the fuck up.' He turned his back on his teammate and stared angrily at the wall of his bedroom.

Blaise remained on the floor, rubbing his jaw and staring at Harry's back. He knew that Ginny was like a sister to Harry, but he hadn't thought that his friend would have such a strong reaction to his sleeping with her. In his opinion, Harry's anger was focused on the wrong party; Ginny had been as seductive as he had in the numerous flirtatious sessions of verbal foreplay they had had prior to actually having sex.

Blaise mind began clicking over the situation as he slowly arose from the floor. He began to think that perhaps he had misjudged things. Perhaps Harry wasn't as taken with his best buddy Draco as he had thought. It could be that he had more than brotherly feelings for Ginny and planned to get back with her. Harry's behavior seemed like a jealous rage in his eyes more than anything else.

'Listen Harry,' Blaise began.

But Harry turned suddenly and cut him off, his eyes still blazing with fire, 'she's pregnant with your child,' he said scathingly.

That took every last wind out of Blaise's metaphorical sails and he stood gaping at Harry completely stunned. 'She – she's pregnant?' Blaise mumbled, his face suddenly pale and his eyes wide.

'Quite,' Harry's expression had not changed one whit.

'But she told me…she said she…' Blaise brought a hand to his face and began rubbing it rather fervently, his expression collapsing into something rather desolate.

Watching him, Harry's anger began to slip away a little. He recalled Ginny telling him that she had told Blaise that she had used a protective spell or charm. It also began dawning on him that he may have over-reacted a bit due to his previous state of mind. But he was still angry; Blaise should never have added Ginny to his list of conquests.

Blaise seemed to have slipped into some private world and he began mumbling as if he were speaking to himself, 'I always use an impotency spell,' he began to pace in a small circle, '_always_, unless the woman is using a protective spell. You can't mix them; all that magic can cause complications…less effective.'

'Well that doesn't matter much now does it?' Harry said, his voice somewhat calmer in tone.

Blaise looked up, his stance that of a man who had just lost everything he owned to a thief and threw his hands out helplessly, 'I…why would she…I mean, what happened? Didn't she know how to use the spell correctly?' he threw his hands to his face, pulling his palms down his cheeks.

'The fact is, it doesn't matter what happened. You now have a bit of a bigger problem on your hands than the ineffectiveness of protective spells.'

Blaise nodded, his head jerking up and down in a halting fashion. His eyes found Harry's and a worried frown creased his forehead, 'did she – did she say what she was planning to do?'

'Have it; raise it.'

Blaise nodded again. He stood silently for a few moments, obviously trying to collect himself.

'You need to talk to her,' Harry supplied.

Blaise looked up again suddenly, 'I know that much, why the hell didn't she tell me?' his voice held a little heat of its own, but then it became hesitant once more, 'I – I am not ready for this – I can't have a family.'

Harry stood up straighter, 'well you don't have much of a choice.'

The heat returned to Blaise's voice, 'I understand I am going to have a child, Potter. That is not what I am talking about. I have no intention of abandoning any child of mine.'

'Good,' Harry said sharply.

'I mean to say…I am just not ready for the whole marriage thing and yet everyone is going to start insisting on it. I don't want to marry someone and live together in some hateful relationship merely because we have a child together.'

Harry crossed his arms over his chest and his eyes bored into the Slytherin.

Blaise narrowed his eyes, 'you wouldn't know. You never saw my mum with her umpteen husbands or Nott's parents…all a sham, a big hateful, horrible sham. I wouldn't want that for me or…for Ginny or make any child suffer through it.'

'So what do you propose?' Harry questioned, his tone hard.

Blaise ran a hand through his hair, 'I don't know…I have to speak with Ginny.'

'That would be a good start.'

Blaise nodded, 'don't worry, I have no intention of making her face this alone…or turning my back on my child.'

'Good.'

Blaise nodded again and stumbled across the room, glancing at Harry briefly with anguished eyes before exiting the room.

Harry watched him go, most of his anger abated, but a small ball of fury – mixed with jealousy that had nothing at all to do with Ginny and Blaise – was still churning away within his soul.

Harry forced his feet to move a moment later and reached the lower level of his home in time to see the front door closing behind Blaise. It hit him then that he was going to shortly have to face a very enraged Ginny; something he did not fancy in the least, but it would be worth it. This wasn't something Ginny should have to face alone and he was not the proper person for her to face it with. He'd be there for her, always, but his support should be secondary in his opinion. He began to feel a little better about breaking his promise to her and turned his steps toward the den.

His heart blackened again when he passed the food room and noted that Draco and Lucian were still involved in conversation. Neither looking in the least bored.

_Don't need him._ Harry thought arrogantly and marched into the den looking around for Ron. He spotted his friend making up to a cute little brunette near the rear of the room and sauntered up to them.

'Hey,' he said, interrupting his friend's pick up routine.

'Hey,' Ron said looking slightly molested by the intrusion.

'Hi,' the brunette said looking at Harry rather flirtatiously.

Harry knew Ron would be miffed at his coming along and spoiling his rendezvous, but he had no intention of ruining Ron's little party, only disrupting it for a bit.

'Let's get out of here for a few,' Harry said to Ron, nodding to the brunette in response to her greeting.

Ron was not always quick on the uptake, but he didn't have to be on this occasion. Harry rarely if ever called him away from a romantic adventure, but more than that, he'd noted Harry's absence earlier. He knew his friend was upset about something and he had pretty much figured out what that something was.

Ron turned to the brunette, 'I'll be back in a moment, don't run away,' he said smiling at her.

But the brunette was looking at Harry, 'where are you going? I am finding it a bit stuffy in here too, shall I come along?'

'We'll just be gone a minute,' Ron said quickly, grabbing Harry's arm and pulling him away.

Harry took the lead and led Ron through the throng of people and out the front door. He walked nearly to the edge of the lovely expanse of lawn that framed his home before he abruptly sat down.

Ron sat next to his mate and turned to look at him, 'what's eating you?'

'Everything,' Harry said dramatically, and then, 'nothing,' in a deflated tone.

Ron chuckled a little and pulled his long legs up and gripped his knees with his arms. He looked at the sky as if contemplating its beauty for a while and when he spoke his voice was light, 'does this have something to do with the return of Lucian?'

'No…yes.'

Ron smiled, 'yeah I figured; I saw him talking to Draco and notice that you had disappeared. I looked about for you a bit, but you seemed to have deserted the premises.'

'Went upstairs for a bit.'

'Ah.'

'Why couldn't he keep his French ass in France?'

Ron chuckled again, 'seems to me Lucian walked in with some model from Witches Weekly. I thought maybe they were together.'

'Yeah, that is Nicolas, the detective working on the poison chocolate case and a friend of my guardians. He is French too; I guess they are friends.'

'Oh.'

The two sat in silence for a couple of moments and then Ron suddenly and without warning punched Harry in the arm, 'since when do you think so little of yourself that you have to worry about some idiot from France moving in on your territory?'

'Draco's not my territory and the two of them used to be lovers if you have forgotten.' He shoved Ron in retaliation for the punch.

'Well they are just old friends and old friends talk, that is just what they do. Like me and you, stupid.' He punched Harry again for good measure.

'What the fuck are you punching me for?'

'Because you are acting like some kind of fucked up, love sick puppy over Draco Malfoy. And you are brooding unnecessarily as usual.'

'I don't brood.'

'You are the world champion of brooding.'

Harry punched Ron on the arm.

Ron chuckled, 'it's true. You've brooded from the first day I met you; at least back then you had a reason to brood, but now…'

'Why can't life just flow along smoothly?' Harry questioned, his tone musing and a bit spiteful.

'Still brooding.'

Harry punched Ron again.

Ron thumped him back and started laughing when Harry suddenly turned and grabbed both his arms, tackling him to the ground.

Ron shoved Harry's chest, knocking him off and then whipped himself onto his knees and tried to pin Harry to the ground.

'Hands off, faggot,' Harry said, his own laughter suddenly bubbling up as he pushed at one of Ron's arms with both hands causing the lad to lose his grip and fall sideways.

'I'm the faggot?' Ron said incredulously, 'I'm not the one sticking his ass in the air and waving it invitingly before Malfoy.'

'He'd run from that bony thing you call an ass if you tried it,' Harry retorted.

The two started scuffling in earnest then, laughing, rolling around the grass and calling each other names like they were fifteen instead of twenty-five.

Ron finally managed to shove Harry off the grass completely and onto the sidewalk that passed before the house then quickly edged backward, crawling along on his butt, before Harry could seek further revenge.

But Harry wasn't moving; he remained lying on the hard ground with grass in his hair, staring at the sky and laughing; _feeling_ fifteen again and it felt good.

'Retard,' Ron said, his own voice filled with mirth.

'Totally mental,' agreed Harry rubbing at his laughter-moist eyes.

'Come 'ere so I can set you straight,' Ron called.

Harry slowly rolled over onto his knees and then stood up. He moved to where Ron sat and plopped himself onto the ground at his friend's side.

'And don't touch me again you pervert; I won't let you get out of things so easily next time.'

Harry laughed and fell back against the grass, 'you just want an excuse to touch me you latent fairy.'

Ron's face screwed up a little, 'and what was the meaning of presenting yourself right in the middle of my talking to Christiana? I had her halfway to my bed when you interrupted.'

Harry rolled his eyes, 'the tart will be there when we return, don't worry.'

'I hope so, she is a little beauty.'

'That she is.'

Ron spoke again after a bit, 'so you have it pretty bad for Malfoy, eh mate?'

Harry sighed a little, his mood so vastly improved even a reminder of his previous jealousy didn't affect it, 'there is something maddeningly attractive about the bloke, I'll give you that.'

'You have to give it to me because I don't see it. I mean, he's alright these days; funny bloke, but that doesn't make me want to shag him.'

Harry ignored that, 'have you ever become attracted to someone and it was propelled by something totally odd?' he asked.

'Something totally odd? What do you mean?'

'I mean something completely trite, like their eyes or way they bite their lip or something.'

Ron chuckled, 'Malfoy is a lip biter?'

Harry laughed, 'no…that is, he has a nice little way of tugging on one's lip with his teeth, but no, I wasn't referring to his being a lip biter. I just…well it is his hand and his fingers. It is the fucking oddest thing. I see his fingers and I just get so damned turned on.'

Ron looked back at his friend with an expression that clearly stated Harry was nutters.

Harry laughed again, 'yeah I know. It is because of a dream I had I think.'

'Uh boy; as I recall dreams are not a friend of yours.'

'Not a nightmare you idiot, a regular dream.'

'A dream about Malfoy's fingers?'

'Yeah, kind of…more what he was doing with them at the time.'

'Uggh, I don't want to know.'

Harry chuckled, 'yeah well, I'll leave that up to your imagination.'

Ron turned his body so that he was facing Harry and shrugged, 'you just like the bloke a lot, that's all; maybe you are even falling in love with him.' He reached and flicked a few stray pieces of grass from Harry's hair.

Harry met his friend's eyes and considered the words, turning them over in his mind a bit, 'maybe.'

A grin broke across Ron's face, 'who'd of ever thought that you would go all barmy over Malfoy after everything that the two of you have been through in life?' he shook his head in mock sadness, 'he must be a much better shag than you have led me to believe or you are just sadly inept at judging what a good shag is.'

'Run,' Harry said, his eyes alight with mischief, 'because as soon as the lethargy that has settled over me wears off, I am going to kick your ass.'

Ron burst out laughing and slowly began to rise, 'let's get back inside; people are likely beginning to wonder what has become of their host.'

Harry struggled up from the grass wishing they could stay a while longer. He carelessly loped an arm around his friend's shoulders as they walked slowly back toward the house. At least his spirits were high once more, Harry thought happily. He silently sent a small prayer to whatever gods listened to wizards, thanking them for having sent Ron along to be his best mate.


	14. Chapter 14

**To Lay A Dragon**

**All of the delectable characters belong to JK Rowling. **

**Chapter 14**

**A/N: Thank you to everyone who reviewed. Enjoy…**

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It seemed to Harry that Draco and Lucian stood together talking for hours. In reality it had been less than an hour and if Harry had continued to stare throughout, he would have seen that others had joined Draco's tête-à-tête with Lucian, coming and going and speaking with the pair. In reality the two had not spent all that much time speaking to one another privately.

Nonetheless, when Harry returned with Ron and saw that Draco was no longer speaking with Lucian, but had joined another small group of players in the front room, he purposely ignored him.

Ron had returned to his brunette whom he had had to wrest from the clutches of one of the Avengers and Harry moved to speak with Luna. She prattled on much the same way she had her entire life; wise words scattered in between a host of ridiculous theories and notions and he heard not a word of it. Harry was too busy watching Draco out of the side of his eye.

Someone conjured a music box and people began dancing to the loud music shrieking from it. It wasn't long before he saw his godfather and Remus enter the room and move to where he stood _listening_ to Luna.

'The older set sent me to ask you to turn the music down a bit. They are having trouble hearing one another,' Sirius said with a grin.

Harry grinned as well, not wanting to display any of the turmoil that had begun to build up within him again and signaled to where the music box was situated.

Sirius grabbed Remus' hand and moved toward the box, but stopped before they reached it and began dancing wildly to the music. Well Sirius was dancing alone at first while Remus stood laughing at him for a few moments, but eventually he too began to shake his bones to the rhythm.

Harry saw Charlie, Bill and Tonks enter the room and start dancing as well. A small wave of amusement washed over Harry at the thought of Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, along with the other older guests, pressing their hands to their ears and voicing disgust for leaving the job of cutting the sound to Sirius.

Harry was just about to suggest to Luna that they join the dancers when he felt someone tapping his shoulder.

Startled, Harry sloshed is fourth? Fifth? drink a bit as he turned to see who was demanding his attention.

_Draco._

'Have you seen Blaise?' Draco yelled over the music.

_Wrong question._

'He left,' Harry said in an altogether unfriendly tone.

'He did? That's odd; he didn't say a word to me all evening.'

Harry shrugged, 'ran off in a hurry. He looked like he had somewhere to go,' he added drolly.

Draco wrinkled his brow, 'very unlike Blaise.'

Harry began to feel a little anger at Draco's ignorance of his tone which clearly indicated he was displeased. 'Maybe he saw that you were occupied and didn't want to disturb you,' He said, heavy sarcasm in his tone.

Draco quickly met Harry's eyes, some mirth swimming in his, 'with Lucian? That wouldn't stop Blaise.'

Harry's expression was wry, 'well the two of you looked pretty involved in conversation.'

'Just talking over old times,' Draco said lightly, albeit loudly, still trying to speak over the sounds.

Harry raised and lowered his brows quickly.

Draco grinned broadly and leaned in to speak in Harry's ear, 'so do you want me to stay and help you re-arrange things after the party?'

Harry hadn't expected that at all. He looked sharply at Draco and he couldn't help the slow grin that tumbled about his lips. 'All right,' he replied, unable to think of anything else to say.

Draco smirked.

Harry frowned.

Draco laughed.

So, Harry kissed him, just a short thing as Draco's mouth was open with laughter at the time, but it did serve to shut the Slytherin up.

Harry smirked.

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The party finally wound up at about six o clock in the morning. The older set had left sometime before and Harry had seen Sirius and Remus slinking off upstairs around five o clock, their arms wrapped about each other and still looking wide awake. He had a feeling, however, that he wouldn't be seeing them again until the next day.

Ron and managed to convince the brunette to leave with him a little before six and the last of the party goers left shortly after, leaving quite a mess behind. Nicolas had left a bit earlier, but he had stopped to tell Harry that he would like for him to come to Azkaban the next evening at six o clock. Harry had been a bit surprised at the request, but Nicolas indicated that he was gathering a number of people together for a small conference dealing with the case.

Harry had agreed to go, but it left him in wonder. A thought struck him once everyone had left and he turned to Draco who was gathering up cups with his wand and sending them to a trash bin.

'Did Nicolas mention anything about a meeting to you?' he inquired.

Draco looked up from his chore, 'yeah he did. He said that he was putting together some kind of conference tomorrow at Azkaban of all places and asked if I would come.'

'Are you going?'

'Are you?'

Harry nodded.

'I suppose I am,' Draco said.

'I wonder what it is about?'

'Who knows. Maybe they are going to add a few years onto my father's already long sentence.'

Harry frowned, 'I think they meant the poison chocolate case, not your case.'

Draco shrugged, 'same answer.'

Harry pulled a face, 'you think your father was involved?'

Draco grinned, 'not really, but you never know; he hates Snape.'

'Guess we'll find out tomorrow,' Harry murmured as he started shifting furniture back into place with his wand.

'Don't you have house elves to do this sort of thing?' Draco inquired a bit arrogantly.

'Ubin is sleep; well, more like passed out.'

Draco laughed, 'your house elf was drinking?'

'And dancing, didn't you see him?'

Draco continued to laugh, 'no, but then again, they are rather short.'

Harry inclined his head, 'he always parties with us here. I straighten up; I kind of thought you knew that since you offered to help.'

'That was mere pretext.'

Harry's head shot up, 'oh really?'

Draco smirked, 'you don't really believe I stayed to play house elf, do you?'

Harry grinned, 'well I had thought perhaps you had other reasons…'

'Perhaps I did.'

Harry met Draco's eyes and the two stared in silence for a moment, broken by Harry whose trademark wide grin had once again spread across his features, 'Can I top?'

A slow grin began forming along Draco's lips, 'why not.'

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Harry was straddled over Draco's legs on the bed in his master bedroom, using his wand to undo the buttons of Draco's shirt.

'I haven't been on this side of the equation for a while so…' Draco said.

Harry grinned, 'just relax; at first there is pain, but later the feeling is just incomparable!'

Draco burst out laughing, something that was quite rare for the Slytherin. But hearing his own words coming back at him struck him as inordinately funny.

'Just relax,' Harry repeated on a whisper as he sunk his lips against the expanse of skin the open shirt had revealed.

Draco moaned and placed his hands on Harry's shoulders.

'This won't hurt at all,' Harry murmured as he made his way downward.

From the next sound Draco issued, it appeared that Harry was right.

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Severus Snape sat alone in the Azkaban conference room when Sirius and Remus entered. The room was barren except for a long table that nearly met the end of the room on either side and a series of chairs that had been set around it.

'_Snivellous!_' Sirius declared as he entered the room.

Snape's scowl darkened tremendously and his black eyes began to glitter, 'look what the trash workers left behind,' he responded scathingly.

Sirius and Remus sat down across from Snape at the table. Remus stared down at the darkened oak of the table and seemed to fall into private contemplation. Sirius however never took his eyes from his nemesis.

'So,' Sirius taunted, 'how's Azkaban treating you?'

Snape's eyes snapped, 'I would say much better than it treated your black hide. As you can see, I haven't gone insane, which is more than can be said for you.'

Sirius laughed, 'about time they boxed you up; you were always a creepy, sniveling, greasy git; I knew you'd end up with your ass locked in a cell.'

Snape smirked, 'ah, but one day I will be released; and vermin like you won't be too happy about it.' Snape's expression became threatening, 'and that is a promise, Black.'

'Are you threatening me you little piece of-'

'STOP IT!' Remus cried suddenly, looking from one to the other, 'you two sound like you are eleven years old again; babies at Hogwarts. There may be no love lost between all of us, but that is no reason we have to sit here and act like children!'

Sirius looked at him with an expression bordering on mulish, 'he started it.'

Remus narrowed his eyes, 'no he didn't.'

'He called us trash!' Sirius exclaimed, looking at Remus as if he were the biggest traitor to have ever stepped foot on the earth.

'You called him Snivellous.'

'But that is his name!'

Remus rolled his eyes, 'I am just not in the mood for it tonight, Sirius, please just stop.'

Sirius crossed his arms over his chest and sat back in his chair fuming.

'You are acting childish,' Remus admonished.

'He can't help it, he is a child,' Snape muttered, 'and he is lucky that he has a little lapdog to watch over him or he would likely end up dead…once again.'

Sirius arose abruptly from his seat, clearly intending to use his fists instead of words, but Remus shoved him back down.

'Leave it, Sirius, he isn't worth it,' Remus said tiredly.

'Finally, someone to control the buffoon,' Snape remarked.

Sirius lunged against Remus' hold.

Remus looked at Snape, anger shooting from his eyes, 'you aren't acting any better. Just leave it; let's all just be quiet.'

'I don't follow the orders of werewolves posing as humans,' Snape replied evilly.

'I'll fucking kill you for that!' Sirius barked.

More restraint was required of Remus as his boyfriend jetted from his seat again.

'You just can't let it go, can you?' Remus said to Snape.

Snape scoffed at him 'it is a little difficult to do when one is faced with a person who tried to murder him at sixteen…and who, with his consort, recently tried again and failed.'

Remus looked at Snape and his tone when he spoke was as pragmatic as Harry's had become, 'you know, Sirius told you how to stop the movement of the Whomping Willow when we were younger, but it was you who decided to follow his advice and do so, and then walk into the tunnel. You knew the place was supposedly haunted which likely meant some danger for you; I would suggest it was as much your fault as his, so why don't you just let it go?'

Snape smirked, 'you fools! The truth is, I was far more intelligent than you gave me credit for back then. I had watched you traveling into the shack on the full moons and I had already worked out myself that you were a foul werewolf!'

Sirius' eyes grew wide, 'oh my god, you were a bigger moron than I gave you credit for. You knew Remus was a werewolf and you went in anyway?'

Snape's dark eyes snapped at Sirius, 'I was verifying my belief that the school was allowing a werewolf to endanger all of us. If Dumbledore hadn't illicited that promise from me in the way he did, I would have seen you all expelled and the creature put down.'

Sirius lurched forward again, but Remus knocked him back.

'So you see, your little plot to kill me didn't work,' Snape finished bitterly.

'Because James saved your stupid ass; I'd of let you get bitten! Would have served you right for being a damned nosey git; not to mention a complete imbecil!

'Bitten,' Snape sneered, 'you hoped I would be killed!'

Sirius' eyes took on a dangerous gleam, 'so that was my plan was it? I suppose I knew you would follow the advice of your sworn enemy, eh?'

'You hoped I would,' Snape retorted.

'I suppose I should have realized that an ignorant berk like you might.'

'You wanted me dead!' Snape snarled.

Sirius shrugged, 'fine by me if you wish to believe that. Actually, I rather like thinking that I might have tried to kill you and rid the world of a bit of scum. Would have been quite perspicacious of me.'

'And you and,' he looked at Remus with disgust, 'this creature tried again with this chocolate business.'

Sirius' grinned evilly, 'I really wish I could take full credit for all of it; oh what joy if you'd of died back then! And I truly worship whoever tried to dispose of you with the chocolates.' he snapped.

'I am certain they have wine here,' Remus cut across the conversation loudly, unexpectedly, and then waved his hand. A goblet appeared in his hand and he set it in front of Sirius. 'Drink!' he commanded.

Sirius looked at Remus a little angrily, but then his face softened and he reached for the glass, 'conjure that idiot a little poison will you?'

'Drink!' Remus demanded again. He turned to looked at Snape, 'we didn't try to kill you with the chocolates, Severus. As I said, there is little regard between all of us and I believe it is impossible for that to ever change. It would be best if we simply ignore one another for the rest of our lives.'

'That would suit me just fine,' Severus replied, turning away.

A simmering silence pervaded the room and was broken when the door snapped open a few moments later and several Aurors arrived.

'Looks like we made it before a battle broke out,' quipped one of the Aurors. His co-workers sniggered as they sat in chairs about the table. 'We were hoping for a knock down, drag out fight…we were watching on the monitor.'

'Very professional of you,' Remus said haughtily.

'We don't get much in the way of entertainment,' the Auror replied.

Both Sirius and Severus looked at the Aurors with disgust; it was evident that they both felt more hatred for the Aurors in that moment than one another. Their grudge, they felt, might be old and childish, but they'd be damned if anyone was going to make entertainment out of them.

The room filled up quickly then; the back door opened and Crabbe, Goyle, Mrs. Pettigrew and Lucius entered and sat down in chairs about the table. The front door opened shortly after and Nicolas walked in.

Nicolas smiled at all of those gathered, 'ah good, we are all,' he stopped and looked around, 'oh, there are a few people still missing.' He walked to the head of the table and stood. 'Hopefully they will be along any time now.'

As if his words were prophecy, the door opened once more to reveal Ginny and Mr. Weasley and just behind them Harry and Draco.

Draco looked at his father as he entered the room, a man he'd not seen for over a decade and their eyes were glued to one another for a moment. Then Lucius turned from his son and set his eyes on Nicolas.

Draco didn't react, at least not outwardly and Harry who had been standing next to him, gave his arm a little squeeze. They moved to two empty chairs next to one another and looked up at Nicolas.

'That is everyone I believe; we can begin,' Nicolas said jovially.

'The monitor is still on,' one of the Aurors commented.

'Thank you,' Nicolas responded and then he looked around the room and began quietly speaking again, 'this case has been very convoluted and tricky. Mr. Snape received a box of chocolates from Mr. Draco Malfoy,' he nodded at each of them. 'There was no poison in them at that point. Mr. Draco Malfoy also gave chocolates to Misters Crabbe and Goyle.

The latter two were able to switch two of those chocolates with two of Mr. Snape's chocolates and-'

'What?' Snape cried angrily.

'Yes, I am afraid that during the big to-do you had here in the prison the other day, your chocolates were left unguarded and they effected the change without your knowing.'

Snape looked murderously at the lads.

'You shouldn't be selfish with your chocolates, Professor!' Crabbe said a little evilly.

'However,' Nicolas said loudly to forestall any conversation, 'the chocolates they had did not contain any poison either. But as we know, when Mr. Snape passed the chocolates on to Miss Weasley, they did indeed have poison in them.'

Snape sat up in his seat, 'I did not poison the chocolates!'

'Of course you did,' Sirius said at once.

'Please!' Nicolas said, holding up a hand, 'if I may continue. As many are aware, Mr. Lucius Malfoy has little love for Mr. Snape.'

'If you are going to try to hang this on me, I'll-' began Lucius.

'Please, Mr. Malfoy, I am not hanging anything on you at all.'

'You had better not be if you know what is good for you!'

'Right,' Nicolas said abruptly, 'well I thought perhaps Mr. Lucius Malfoy may have wished to send Mr. Snape off to the wizard after-world a little early; however Mr. Malfoy lacked certain requirements of being a suspect. He had a motive, but no opportunity and no way of adding poison to the chocolates.'

Lucius nodded his head curtly and crossed his arms over his chest.

'The only time the chocolates were left unattended were when the fracas broke out here at the prison. I investigated the circumstances of that event and that is what led to my discovery of how this criminal act was achieved.'

'By that flea ridden dog and grimy werewolf; they have had it in for me for years,' Snape muttered.

'As a matter of fact, the poison was brought to the prison by Sirius Black and Remus Lupin,' Nicolas declared.

'I knew it!' Snape declared, his eyes alight and sparkling.

'What?' Sirius said angrily, looking quickly at Remus.

Remus flushed, his eyes trained on Nicolas.

'If you would all stop interrupting please,' Nicolas said a little wearily, 'brought to the prison by them, but not used by them.'

'Still, they would have only brought poison to the prison with the intention of killing me!' Snape declared.

'Please, Mr. Snape,' Nicolas sighed, 'they brought it along quite innocently in the form of a gift which they gave to Mrs. Pettigrew.'

All eyes went wide as heads turned in the direction of the older lady who sat staring at Nicolas in astonishment.'

'Yes. While I was looking around your cell I saw an object,' he looked to the Aurors and a small muggle knick-knack was handed over. 'As you see, this is a muggle item. The little scene you see inside this clear casing has a gelatinous substance about it. When you turn it over, as you can see, little white particles flow to the top. When I set it upright again, the little particles fall slowly downward, making it appear as if snow is falling over the scene.'

Nicolas looked at Mrs. Pettigrew, 'the gelatinous substance that causes the snow to fall slowly is the same substance that was used on the chocolates and it is poisonous if ingested.'

Mrs. Pettigrew gasped, 'my god! But how did someone get into my cell to get the substance?'

'No one did, Mrs. Pettigrew,' Nicolas said solemnly, 'you siphoned out a bit of the poison yourself and placed it on the chocolates.'

Nicolas shook the little clear case hard over the table and minute amounts of the substance dripped onto the table.

'You made a whole just big enough to retrieve some of the gel, but small enough so no one would notice.'

There was a universal gasp in the room.

'I did no such thing!' declared Mrs. Pettigrew, 'why ever would I do that? It makes no sense! How would I know it was poison? I know nothing about poisons!'

'She wouldn't do that!' Sirius concurred.

'I beg to differ. She did do that and you do know quite a bit about poisons. I have checked your library record and you have been studying the subject for some time.'

'I – I would never poison anyone!' Mrs. Pettigrew declared, clearly incensed.

'What reason would she have for wanting to kill Severus Snape?' Harry interjected.

'Because,' Nicolas continued, 'she is in love with Severus Snape and jealous of what she thought was a relationship budding between he and Miss Weasley.'

Another universal gasp.

'Why I never! I am NOT in love with Severus Snape. I have barely spoken to the man!' Mrs. Pettigrew's face was red with rage.

Snape was regarding Mrs. Pettigrew with a wary eye.

'Mr. Snape? Would you like to add anything?' asked Nicolas.

Mrs. Pettigrew turned to face Snape.

Snape looked at her a moment and then turned his gaze upon Nicolas, his eyes speculative. He sighed, 'it is true. She admitted as much to me.'

Mrs. Pettigrew yelped as she lowered her head in her hands, 'how could you Serverus? How could you!'

Remus looked at Mrs. Pettigrew in shock.

Sirius looked as though he might puke, 'you were in love with that-'

'Thank you Mr. Snape,' Nicolas cut in, 'as you can see, the game is up Mrs. Pettigrew. When the boys ran into you outside of Snape's cell, you were not going to the library. You were coming from the recreation room and you were going into Mr. Snape's cell to poison the chocolates. Chocolates that you knew he would not eat, but would give to Miss Weasley.'

Ginny gapped and Mr. Weasley slammed a hand on the table, 'of all the-'

'Please Mr. Weasley, they haven't given us very long here. I am almost finished.'

Mrs. Pettigrew began nodding her head in her hands.

'The woman having a fit in the hallway,' Nicolas continued, 'you had just left her in the recreation room; she was your first victim. You gave her a nice piece of left over cake from dinner and watched her eat it, then you led her talking to the entrance to the passage way. You hoped she would not recover, but she has and she explained to me what had happened to her.'

'Lies! All lies!' cried Mrs. Pettigrew, 'first they blame me for being in league with poor Peter and now this!'

'Poor Peter? But you said-' Sirius began, outrage in his voice.

'Sirius!' Nicolas cut him off, 'I have about five minutes, please let me finish. After that, you waited until you heard the Auror through the door indicate that Snape had a visitor and since the woman's convulsions hadn't begun, you shoved the poor woman to the floor. She screamed out and shortly thereafter began having the convulsions you hoped for. You waited only long enough for Mr. Snape to come into the hall and then continued to Mr. Snape's cell.'

'How did she know Snape would have a visitor right then?' Harry asked

'She timed it well; Snape's regular visitor comes at the same time everyday,' Nicolas declared.

Ginny blushed.

'And Mrs. Pettigrew here took her chances that Miss Weasley would arrive on time as usual.'

'Mrs. Pettigrew stopped her in-hand weeping and suddenly looked up. Her wailing, her eyes trained on Snape, 'y-you no sh-she is not ri-right for you! Sh-she is too young! You and I love bo-books! WE ARE MEANT TO B-BE!' she wailed.

There was disgust upon every face in the room.

One of the Aurors stood, 'I think we have heard enough,' he turned to Nicolas, 'thank you detective.' He faced the group again, 'Severus Snape, for your admission during this session and the information you gave us at the time of your incarceration, the Ministry regulation force us to remove time for your sentence and that time exceeds the amount of time that you have remaining. Thus, you are now a free man.'

Snape gapped at the man.

'You can thank Mr. Benet here for bringing that to the Ministries attention; we'll explain it all at the desk. We will send everything from your cell along, merely indicate a direction.' He turned to face the guilty party, 'Mrs. Pettigrew, for your additional crime, you will have to make another court appearance. We are finished here. Session dismissed!'

Everyone stood at once and the prisoners moved back toward their cells, the others left the room.

Snape smirked as he passed by Sirius and Remus who were speaking with Nicolas as they slowly made their way out of the room.

Sirius looked at Snape, his eyes unfathomable.

'Don't worry, Black,' Snape remarked snidely, 'I have no intention of keeping my promise. I've been here too long already and have no notion of returning. Frankly, even you are not worth it.'

Sirius said nothing; he merely watched Snape move ahead of them down the hall.

'Well that was a surprise,' Remus remarked.

Sirius turned to face him, his brows raised slightly.

'I'd of expected a cutting remark from you.'

'I realized something,' Sirius said slowly.

Remus did the brow raise this time.

'The man likely has no where to go.'

Remus' eyes widened, 'and you care? Don't tell me you care.'

'No I don't. But his leaving reminded me of…my own. I didn't have anywhere to go either; only a destination.'

Remus' eyes filled up at the reminder of his ancient distrust of one of the people who among other things, had been one of his best friends his entire life. He regretted terribly that he had not been there for Sirius.

Sirius laughed and hugged him. 'Remy, don't even start. You know in your heart if I had come to you…that is, if you weren't at Hogwarts and I had come to you, you would have listened to me. You would have taken me in.'

Remus nodded.

Nicolas chuckled, 'well I will leave you love birds now. I must go to my own nest.'

Sirius and Remus shook his hand and watched him move to speak briefly to Harry and Draco before moving down the hall.

'Let's offer Snape the cabin,' Remus said suddenly, 'we never use it, it has nothing personal of ours in it.'

'Our cabin up north?'

'Yes, the one we went to a month ago that we hadn't visited in five years – and won't likely visit for another five!'

Sirius laughed, 'he would spit in our faces.' His eyes narrowed and his voice grew terse, 'and he doesn't deserve it – not after all he did! And besides, I can feel pity for the greasy git without having to do anything about it.'

But then Remy met his eyes and Sirius saw way too many emotions in them; all readable, and all soaring straight to his heart.

'Oh all right. But you go offer and I have nothing to do with it. Besides, I don't feel like having greasy-git spit on my face tonight.'

Remus smiled a little at that and moved down the hall. He saw Sirius move to speak with Harry, Draco, Mr. Weasley and Ginny as he made his way to the Auror offices. Snape was still there as he expected he would be, arguing with the Aurors about holding his things for a day or two.

'Severus,' Remus said quietly.

Snape turned and scowled when he saw Lupin before him.

'Severus, Sirius and I would like to offer you the use of a cabin if you need it for…for a while.'

Snape's eyes narrowed, 'now why would you want to do that?'

'It is up to you. It is in the North; you can check it for traps and such before you enter, I know you are good at that. It is not that kind of offer, it is a sincere one. If you want to stay there you may.'

Snape looked at Remus and spat nastily, 'I don't trust either of you.'

'I know,' Remus said in his soft tone, 'it is up to you.' Remus walked to the edge of the desk where a scroll and quill sat for office use. He wrote information on it and then handed the scroll to Snape.

'Up to you,' Remus repeated and without another word he turned and headed back down the hallway.

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**More to come…**


	15. Chapter 15

**To Lay A Dragon**

**All of the delectable characters belong to JK Rowling. **

**A/N:** As we start up again, I should take a moment to re-orient everyone with the universe here. As you all know, this story is AU – yes alternate universe. For those of you who hadn't figured that out yet, in canon, Draco and Harry were uh…not actually considering sex with one another. Nor were Sirius and Remus for that matter – and of course Sirius didn't actually return to life from the after-world in canon. Additionally, to waylay any future confusion, in this particular story, Snape did not, I repeat, did NOT, relay the prophecy about Harry and the Potters to Voldemort, NOR did he engage in an unrequited, lingering love for Lily – in fact, they were not even friends in their youth – because that is just unnecessary trauma for our Snape. The Snape here is simply as he appears to be – old enemy to the Marauders and hateful of Harry based on that, but devilishly wonderful in character at sticking to those traits for so long because, damn it, that is just how he is! He ambled over to Dumbledore's side of his own accord and as we have seen, continued to amble back and forth between good and evil till he was finally caught and escorted to Azkaban – he was brilliantly wicked in the past, but now once again a free man and his future – well we shall see, shant we? Ron and Hermione were never more than just friends and she decided on Viktor (they are off in Bulgaria). Ginny and Harry got over their old thing just fine, thank you very much and she and Blaise Zabini have had a fling. And the war…well that went slightly differently in our story, based on what's been said before (all written pre-DH of course). So now that we have resettled the universe, we shall continue…

**Chapter 15**

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It was three in the morning and Harry was lying in bed, still wide awake. The events of the last two days had been incredible. Mrs. Pettigrew had tried to poison Ginny; his godfather had made a kind gesture to Snape of all people and if all of that weren't strange enough, there was _the realization. _

Harry had no idea why he hadn't realized it sooner. For all of his arrogant denial, he'd gone and fallen for Draco. It had hit him the last time he and Draco had been together, right where he lay now, in his bed.

Topping had become a goal for him, something he'd wanted to try – the director of their sexual encounter. However, his goal had fallen by the wayside and he wasn't sure exactly when it had happened. He recalled looking into Draco's slightly anxious grey eyes beneath him as he prepared to take him and a feeling of compassion began flowing through him like nothing he'd ever experienced before.

He had been on the point of entering Draco, but instead he found himself stretching on top of him, kissing those beautiful lips and running his hands over that firm body, caressing and massaging until the anxiety dropped from the eyes staring at him.

It was many minutes later when he actually did enter the warmth of the Slytherin's body, and at that point there was only desire, craving and need shining from Draco's eyes. It was something Harry realized he had longed to see and while he was still unsure if Draco's emotion indicated his desire for sex or for him, it was in that moment that he realized nothing would ever feel as right and as wonderful as being with Draco. It wasn't just sexual, it was everything; their entire relationship he realized was a series of subtle nuances and secret promises that had never been allowed to come to fruition.

He wasn't sure he could call what he felt love, and yet, he toyed with the word because if not love, what was it?

It was in the midst of these thoughts that Harry heard a frantic knocking on the door. He jumped from his bed and rushed from his room in pajamas to the stairs. He nearly crashed with his godfather and Remus who had apparently been just as startled by the sound.

They were all three before the door when Harry pulled it open and the sight that met their eyes caused them to stand frozen, staring.

It was Nicolas; the antithesis of the man that they had left only a few hours ago at the prison. His eyes were red rimed and his face flushed; his chestnut curls were mussed and his entire body seemed to be trembling. He stared woefully and with desperation at Remus and in his hands he held a wooden box.

It was only a matter of seconds before Remus leapt forward and pulled his friend into the house, walking him into the front room and seating him on the sofa. Remus sat next to Nicolas and placed an arm around his shoulders. Sirius, who had been in the same condition too many times in the past not to recognize despair, quickly drew a bottle of whiskey from Harry's cabinet and poured out a glass. He shoved it into Nicolas' hand and then sat down on the sofa and stared at the detective.

Harry remained by the door, unsure what to do and was about to turn and leave when Remus spoke.

'Nicolas, what is it? What has occurred?' Remus asked quietly.

'I went home,' Nicolas began, his voice breaking.

'Is Lucian all right?' asked Sirius, his tone concerned.

Nicolas nodded; he seemed to will himself to a calm state before slowly speaking again. 'After everything at Azkaban, seeing Lucius Malfoy and knowing what he had done, I began fearing for Lucian. Sven of course has promised not to touch him, but there are others who would like for me to join…the Society. Any of them might try to take Lucian you see.'

'Sven belongs to the society,' Sirius said frowning, 'can't he do anything? Speak to the other vampires?'

Nicolas shook his head, 'no…he can ask of course, but he cannot force them to comply with his request.'

Remus placed a consoling hand on his friend's shoulder.

'There is one way to protect him though-' Nicolas' voice broke again.

'One way?' Remus prompted encouragingly.

'I love Lucian,' Nicolas said a little wildly, 'I was going to protect him. This box, it is made of cherry wood and…if you place a person's picture inside of the person you love more than any other, and give it to a vampire, he can take it to the Society. Your loved one won't…won't be taken. The Society would have protected him because he is not yet marked…I was going to give it…to Sven to give to them.'

Remus' eyes grew wide and he stared at his friend.

Nicolas met Remus' eyes, 'I know, I know. It would have broken Sven for me to do such a thing. I went to him, I had the box and he knew…he knew what it contained and he was devastated just looking at it. And I couldn't…give it to him. It would have been…a lie…'

Remus hugged his friend again, 'I know. You've been confusing yourself over this for so long, Nicolas. You care for Lucian dearly, but you don't love him; not like you love Sven.'

Nicolas nodded morosely, 'when I left with the box still in my hands…Sven knew as well. I just can't do this anymore.'

Harry stared, unable to believe the suave detective sat in tears in his living room. He would never have imagined the man could become so unhinged. However, he remembered how he had felt when Draco's life was threatened by the vampires and he understood; although it seemed as if Nicolas did not love Lucian…

'You should go to him,' Sirius said in an urgent voice.

All eyes turned to regard Harry's godfather.

Sirius shrugged, 'it is obvious that you want to be with Sven. Why do you put yourself through all this pain year after year? There are others that can do what you do…not as well, but you have to live for yourself Nicolas. You've done a lot for the world; it is time to think of you.'

'That is unless you've changed your mind?' Remus added.

Nicolas shook his head, 'no; I love him…it was always just a matter of time.

'No time like the present,' Sirius said firmly, 'that is unless you have loose ends to tie up?

'My nephew will inherit; there is really nothing…nothing now.'

'Except Ministries, endless Ministries asking you to work for them for gold you don't need,' Remus said.

Nicolas nodded and then looked up at Sirius and Remus suddenly, 'will you…that is, when I am with Sven, will you accept us?'

Remus made a small sound and hugged his friend again, 'they have re-classified both vampires and werewolves to humans instead of dark creatures. I think we'll always have that in common.'

'Then I will go to him,' Nicolas said simply.

'Have him come to you, Nicolas, have him come here,' Sirius urged.

Nicolas looked at his friend fondly, 'it is Harry's home.'

Sirius frowned and looked around, 'Harry doesn't mind, do you Harry?'

Harry shook his head, 'no, of course not. What is it I don't mind?'

'Sven,' Remus said quietly, 'is Nicolas' mate in life, Harry. They haven't been together because Sven is a vampire.'

Harry nodded

'In order for them to be together,' Remus continued, 'really together again, Nicolas would have to join Sven as a vampire.'

Harry stood frozen; Nicolas was going to willingly join the vampires?

'It is a choice I would make freely, Harry,' Nicolas added.

Harry nodded dumbly, 'and you want him to come…here?'

'No, we can-' began Nicolas.

'Yes,' Sirius cut in, 'here would be the best and safest place.'

Harry blinked, 'well, sure, it is fine with me.' He had no idea what he was actually consenting to. Was Sven going to come and bite Nicolas' neck in his house? It was preposterous, and yet, it seemed as if that is what he had just approved.

'If you are sure, Harry?' Nicolas said in a small voice.

Harry nodded adamantly.

The detective stood, his face set with determination, 'then I shall go speak to Lucian. He – he has a right to know what I am going to do. I've told him…when we first met, but I – I told him it would be many years. I lied.'

Sirius seemed to find that funny for some reason unknown to Harry and his bark like laughter suddenly filled the room. It was warm and infectious and soon all three of the men before Harry were laughing. Harry wasn't laughing though; he was beginning to believe that all three might have completely lost their minds.

When Nicolas had left, promising to be in touch soon, Harry and his relatives returned to their beds. Harry couldn't sleep however. Nicolas' experience had given him even more food for thought. He began thinking of taking the same type of determined attitude with Draco. It really would be what Draco expected, he thought. After all, despite everything, Draco was still the cunning, ambitious and use-any-means-to-get-what-he-wanted type of person that he'd always been. Perhaps, thought Harry, he should begin to exhibit a few of the Slytherin traits himself.

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In fact, the ambitious and cunning Slytherin was at that very moment considering the means he might use to justify the ends he had in mind. Better put, the "end" he had in mind – in other words, ending it. That is what had to happen with this thing, this weird unrecognizable animal that was and wasn't a relationship forming between he and Harry.

Oh it had been sweet, a little too sweet. Why he had allowed Harry to top he'd no idea; that had been a grand mistake. Harry had managed to snake his way into his chest and Draco could almost feel that snake's venom filling his heart.

Draco paced in his study, long strides from one end of the room and back again; mussing his hair every few seconds. Further contact between them would end in doom - his. He was far too young to be sucked into a relationship…especially with the old war hero. He had no doubt that was where they were headed, whether Harry realized it or not. But he was simply not ready to purchase a ticket on that particular train.

The door chime sounded interrupting his thoughts and his head flew to the clock above the mantle. Who in god's name would call at this hour? But the answer came in a flash. Harry. Just as he had done before…only this time he would not be so keen on hearing a refusal. Not after the rather steady flow of their recent relations – not after that delectable topping session. Draco scowled at his thoughts.

However, the Slytherin's face filled with determination as he strode toward the front door where he met his house elf. 'I'll handle this,' he said resolutely and watched the Elf move back through the house. Draco took a deep breath and swung the door open.

'Do you realize the hour?' Draco demanded without a moment's hesitation. But then he froze and stared. It was not Harry, not even close. It was one Severus Snape, a visage much less handsome and far less welcome than the one he'd expected to see.

'As a matter of fact, I do,' came the sneering response.

Draco recalled that the man had been released from prison that evening and in a flash of insight, he realized that Snape had likely refused Remus and Sirius' offer to stay at their place and now he'd no where to go. So he'd come to Draco's home. Draco's mind instantly rebelled. It was one thing to visit the professor in prison – another thing altogether to house the man. Draco didn't move into the house in welcome, but merely stared into the black eyes of the professor.

Snape seemed to understand and his brow furrowed in distaste, 'if you think I have come to ask for shelter, let me relieve your mind. I have no plans to stay here any longer than absolutely necessary.'

Draco lifted his brows, intrigued. He moved backward a couple of steps and allowed Snape to enter the vestibule. 'You are going to stay at Spinner's End then?'

'My old home has been confiscated, but I have a place to go.'

'I see,' Draco murmured, figuring Snape had accepted the offer after all. He inspected the ill-dressed Snape from head to toe.

Snape ignored Draco's arrogant eye movement and got right to the point, 'I require provisions, and believe me, if there were any other way to get them, I wouldn't have come.'

Draco gave a curt nod, closing the door and leaning against it, his arms crossed before his chest.

'As I said, I have a place to go, however, when I arrived I realized that it had been unoccupied for some time and there are no provisions there…nothing whatsoever. So unfortunately, I have had to come here,' Snape looked about him with distain, 'of all places.'

Draco tilted his head – slightly. 'Ever the charmer.'

Snape scowled deeply.

Draco understood Snape hated to come; hated to ask, and he was quite used to Snape's attitudes. However, he was a Malfoy and he tended to find improper etiquette distasteful. He ignored the little voice that insisted he was much more indulgent when Harry showed a lack of protocol.

Snape's sneer grew, 'I have plenty of money in my Gringotts account I assure you.'

Apparently the professor had misunderstood his silence. 'I don't doubt that,' Draco mumbled, 'all the dashing between sides you did during the war, had to of paid off well.'

Draco had aimed to hurt, but Snape didn't seem the least affected. The elder Slytherin's lip curled, 'as a matter of fact it did. But it will take some time to obtain clearance to my funds.'

Draco's eyes sparked for a moment; Snape's wartime behavior had shown a graceful cunning and he seemed completely unrepentant for his less than stellar behavior. The younger Slytherin felt a grudging appreciation for Snape's unrelenting dark nature, but the moment passed. 'What is it you need?'

Snape sighed, 'a little bread, cheese, wine, some paper goods, just to hold me over for the next few days.'

Draco's legendary smirk appeared.

Snape's eyes narrowed, 'you know I will not beg; you can do it in repayment for my saving your life.'

'Ah, but didn't you tell me time and time again that you actually hadn't saved my life? That you had killed Dumbledore when I failed because of an unintelligent vow you decided to make with my mum?'

'Indeed, you ungrateful, brat. Just give me what I need and I will leave and never return.'

'Except to repay me for what I _lend _you, correct?'

Snape sneered, 'if a flask and a few crumbs of food will drain your bloody accounts dry, then I shall figure out a way to repay you sooner.'

Draco chuckled evilly, 'I don't own any cheap swill of the sort you are used to drinking, _Professor_. It will likely cost much more than you are used to-'

'Malfoy, either do or don't, I am too tired for games,' Snape interrupted, his voice sounding drained.

Draco's demeanor lightened. He too had no desire to stand around battling with words and despite his harsh exterior, there was an abundance of compassion buried in his soul. He called his house elf and told him to give the professor whatever he needed. Then, in repayment for the professor's ingratitude…not just at that moment, but during all of the years of visits Draco had made to the prison, he turned without a word and headed up the stairs.

Draco found his bed quickly and his mind returned to his previous thoughts. His previous thought actually. Harry. Fuck.

He wanted to end things and he knew he had to do so quickly or there would be no turning back. He knew himself well; he was becoming used to seeing Harry, wanting to feel and smell Harry and worse, beginning to hope that Harry's desire for him would not wane.

It wasn't only a matter of his emotions going all South and North; but there was the Malfoy legacy to think about. It was one thing to get seriously entangled with a pureblood in a gay relationship, but with a half-blood? Granted, Harry was from a long line of Potters, a pureblood family that could trace its roots back to the incredible Peverell Brothers, renowned and revered wizards in any circles. And Harry himself was a hero, certainly that counted for something. Still he was quite uncertain what his family would have to say about it all; his mother had not even had the good grace to be a half-blood, she had been a mudblood, pure and simple.

Like Hermione.

Draco groaned. His feelings for Hermione following the war had been a fatal flaw of character showing through. She was brilliant though, no one could say a word against her magical talent. Still, as he had been told since birth – in the end, blood will tell out. Draco imagined that Hermione would likely give birth to a dozen squib children.

It dawned on Draco to wonder what Harry would think about his deepest notions concerning blood superiority. It didn't take long for him to reach the conclusion that Harry would immediately wash his hands of him altogether if he new he still thought in the same way he always had on the matter.

Draco vaguely heard the elf letting Snape out of the house and he wondered just how much the professor was indebted to him. Not that he wanted payment for any of it – at least not in gold.

It was just as Draco began drifting off to sleep, still thinking about his 'Harry troubles' when the sound of his front door chime ringing jerked his mind back to full consciousness.

Harry.

Draco arose from the bed and tried to tell himself he was not racing to throw on his robe and get to the front door. He beat the elf once more and stood calming a couple of seconds before gingerly pulling the door open.

'Do you realize the hour?' Draco demanded without a moment's hesitation. But then he froze and stared. It was not Harry, not even close. But where before there had been an ugly visage, now stood a tremendously handsome one – albeit very distraught looking.

'Blaise…' Draco's voice was but a whisper. He'd never seen his friend looking quite so awful before. He knew something terrible had happened and ushered his friend quickly into the front room, lighting the fireplace and preparing a strong glass of drink before settling down on the couch next to him.

Blaise stared at Draco, not touching his drink.

'What's happened?'

Blaise was silent a few moments and then, 'I am – going to be a – a – father.'

Draco's eyes grew wide, 'a father?'

Blaise nodded stiffly.

'How?' Draco sputtered ignorantly.

Blaise looked at him, his brows drawn.

'I mean who is having your baby?'

'Ginny Weasley.'

'Does she know?'

Blaise scowled, 'what do you mean does she know? How the hell wouldn't she know?'

'I – I mean her parents, I mean everyone. I mean what the fuck are you going to do?' To Draco, the news was far worse than he had anticipated.

Blaise slumped back onto the couch, 'I asked her to marry me.'

'WHAT?'

Blaise nodded.

'Why'd you go and do something stupid like that? You don't love her do you? She was just a shag you said. A good shag, but just a shag nonetheless.'

Blaise ran a hand through his hair, 'well be that as it may, it wasn't just a shag after all, now was it?'

'Like hell it wasn't. You don't have to marry her – there are ways, Blaise. There is a Healer in South London who has no qualms about taking care of unwanted pregnancies, no matter how much the Ministry is against it.'

Blaise's expression darkened, 'I'm not killing any child of mine, Draco.'

'It is hardly a child,' Draco insisted, 'and your life will be ruined! You can't marry a Weasley – they are…' but Draco's voice petered out. He'd gotten so used to looking down upon the family's bloodline, he'd nearly forgotten the reason was that they were pureblood, blood traitors – but purebloods nonetheless.

Blaise was still scowling, 'they are what?'

Draco cleared his throat, 'well blood traitors for one,' he finished a little lamely. Even he wasn't against those who befriended non-purebloods anymore, but he felt a need to defend himself.

Blaise waved his hand dismissively, 'the blood crap is not important to me at all anymore. I'd marry anybody – when I am ready to.'

'Anybody? How can you say that? What about your family line?'

That got Blaise's attention fully and he stared at Draco as if he'd gone mad. 'Do you seriously still believe that any of that matters?'

Draco, 'what do you mean does it matter? Of course it matters!' Draco's voice shook a little; something deep down was looking at him pragmatically and reminding him that all the "blood crap" hadn't really been very important to him at all lately – not until he needed it to form an excuse for begging out of the relationship with Harry. It was his best rationale for dumping Harry. The only one left to him.

Blaise shook his head rapidly, 'you are an idiot. It is a lot of senseless nonsense. Very few people still stand by any of that you know.'

Draco nodded, 'well people give up old values too quickly.'

'Old values believed by a few stuffy old timers who'd be better off dead,' Blaise said arrogantly.

Draco scowled, 'are you saying I would be better off dead?'

'I'm saying you are full of hot air,' Blaise responded tiredly, 'I don't think it matters to you either.'

But Draco cut him off, 'whatever. Maybe it does, maybe it doesn't.'

Blaise eyed Draco with a glimmer in his eyes, 'does this sudden interest in bloodlines have something to do with your sudden interest in one Harry James Potter?'

Draco scowled again, 'I thought we were discussing your problem.'

'So we were,' said Blaise, sighing heavily.

'You gonna marry her then?' Draco asked in a small tone.

'She turned me down. Said she didn't want anything more to do with me.'

'What?' Draco was flabbergasted. How could that stupid girl turn down his friend? In his eyes, Blaise was the best sort; he was a man any woman should be proud to call her husband.

'She told me I was a playboy and a wastrel, just the type of father she didn't want for her child. I reminded her it was mine too, but she just kicked me out of the house.'

Draco grunted, 'well fuck her then. If she wants to deal with it alone, let her.'

Blaise's expression grew even darker, 'I'll be damned if I am not going to be allowed to raise my own kid, Draco. I'll fight her tooth and nail about that.'

Draco was a little amazed at that.

Blaise saw Draco's expression and grinned a little, 'didn't count me as the fathering type, did you? Well I am. My mum went through seven husbands and I have no intention of leaving any child of mine to face such a life.'

'I doubt Ginny would marry and murder seven men, Blaise.'

Blaise scowled. Despite the fact that he too believed his mum had poisoned each of her husbands in order to get their gold, he still loved her. The reminder of her transgressions didn't sit well with him. 'Doesn't matter,' Blaise said finally, 'she is going to marry me whether she wants to or not. I don't care if I have to use the _Imperius_ curse; Ginny and I are going to raise that kid together. I didn't want to marry her – not at first, but after I thought about it, I realized she'd make as good a wife and mother as anyone else and – well – even if I don't love her, I lust after her and that is something.'

Draco burst out laughing.

Blaise looked at his friend and his own laughter rang out. Soon it soured however, 'the truth is I don't know what to feel. I do care what happens to her…and the baby. I do want to jump her bones whenever I see her, but I don't think those things mean I am in love with her. Frankly I am not even sure what love is. Maybe I do love her.' Blaise sounded lost and confused.

Draco shrugged, 'I've seen marriages make it on less.'

Blaise elevated his brows, 'yeah, like every marriage my mother had.'

Both young men sobered at the thought. The light was shining through the windows and Draco realized he'd been up the entire night.

'Let's get some sleep, Blaise. Stay here tonight and we'll figure this thing out in the morning.'

'It is morning.'

'You know what I mean.'

Blaise nodded and allowed Draco to lead him upstairs.

Draco escorted his friend toward the bedroom he generally stayed in and flipped on the lights once inside. Blaise fell onto the bed, reaching to pull his boots away and his face looked so downcast, Draco knew his friend would not get a wink of sleep.

Sighing, Draco flopped down on the other end of the bed and resigned himself to what he figured would be a long, drawn out conversation that would get them no where.


End file.
